Bane of the Organisation: Uzumaki Naruto
by Arisato Naruto
Summary: Naruto after a rather unfortunate series of events decides to leasve the Elemental Nations. Dreaming of nothing but revenge he plows through the dangers of this new continent with blood red and lavender eyes. "Revenge is overrated. Know true Pain."
1. "Dreams are like Meteors. They Crash"

Midnight. Peaceful and quiet. Everyone had either gone to sleep or were beginning their shift. The shinobis on guard duty and the hospital staff were part of the second group. The soft glow of the moon shone on the hospital. In a particular room, lain face up on the hospital bed, was Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, hero of the Fourth Shinobi War. There were almost no disturbances around his room. The only time the peaceful silence was disrupted, was when nurses would come to check in on him, smiling fondly. And in some cases reward their hero for his valiant efforts against Pein, Akatsuki, Madara and The Rabbit Goddess Kaguya.

Naruto slowly stirred from his sleep.his blond hair ruffled and dishelved as he turned from side to side in slight discomfort. His hand moved to cover his eyes so as to forcefully prolong his slumber. However that proved to be fruitless, as the sleep in his eyes suddenly evaporated. Sighing tiredly he gave up. It was impossible to go back to sleep.

"Well at least it wasn't that stupid sun that woke me up." He suddenly stopped to remember the amount of sleep the sun had deprived him. "One of these days sun, one of these days I'll find a way to punch you so hard you fly into another galaxy." After saying that and glaring murderously at the sky, he decided to look around his room.

"All right, I know I'm clearly in the Konoha hospital." Taking a whiff of the air, the smell of detergent, bleach, blood and drugs attacked his nostrils. He gagged slightly in disgust, scrunching his nose tightly to block out the smell. After some minutes he got used to the smell albeit with slight winces and a small frown. "And near the emergency ward too, the hell happened to me."

A slight beeping sound from his right alerted him to a somewhat large machine. The machine seemed to have a screen built into it. The screen was green and had slanted lines moving across it at various heights. The machine also emitted a beeping sound at regular intervals. Naruto wasn't a stranger to medical equipment as he had been put in hospitals quite a lot during his childhood. He also had a teammate, a mother figure, and a sister figure who basically breathed the stuff, so it wasn't too much of a stretch that it knew what it did.

The machine in question was used to check his heart rate, and from what he knew about medicine, he could tell that his heart rate was normal.

"My vitals seem to be normal,so that's a relief I guess." He said before laying on his back and looking at the ceiling. He licked his lips to moisten his lips, but froze noticing they were already moist, and sticky. He raised his hand to his lips and touched the sticky substance, before tasting it. It tasted like vanilla, strawberry, and cherry amidst other flavors

"There are only three possible scenarios: (1) I drooled in my sleep, and my drool tastes like lipstick, which is creepy. (2) Someone regularly gave me girly makeovers, which is embarrassing, or (3) Somebody or somebodies have been tongue-raping my unconscious body." A pause " That last one doesn't seem so bad." Just then a voice that rang through the moon-illuminated room broke Naruto from his musings.

"Sorry to burst your bubble Naruto-kun, but no, you aren't in the morgue, not by a long shot. You guessed correctly though you're in the hospital." The familiar voice came from a black haired woman garbed in the routine nurse attire for the hospital personnel. She conveniently left out denying the last scenario though, something Naruto picked up on before he noticed something else.

"Shizune-nee, what are you doing here, and why am I in the hospital. And more importantly." Naruto sucked as much air as he could into his mouth before finishing "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING?!!!" Naruto all but yelled with a large blush on his features.

Shizune just smiled as Naruto took in her attire. She seemed quite pleased when she noticed his blood flow south. The outfit in question was the standard garb for Konoha medics _decades_ ago. They stopped making them because of how tight and form-fitting the outfits were. That and the fact that most if not all male patients kept loosing blood through their noses everytime the nurses bent over. Tsunade could attest to this.

"Well Naruto-kun, I came here check on you because I was worried about you. Second you're here because you passed out from chakra exhaustion and blood loss after beating Sasuke at the Valley of the end. You also lost your right arm in that fight though. And lastly I'm wearing this outfit."

"I can see that. I mean why are you wearing that outfit?" Naruto asked somewhat calmer now albeit with a raging boner that wouldn't be going down anytime soon.

"I'm wearing it because it is perfect for the activity I have in mind. It's also quite snug too." Shizune answered honestly with a soft smile on her lips, although she licked her lips quite a bit hungrily eying him like a piece of meat.

"You're telling me..." Naruto let his mind wander a bit, and it went straight into the gutter. "Anyways you said I lost my arm to Sasuke. Then how do I still have it." Naruto asked confused seeing his arm still attached.

It was at this point that Shizune lost her smile. "Naruto-kun, you have no obligation to speak of him with such endearment." She was speaking of the amount of care with which he addressed the last Uchiha. She continued.

"He is a good for nothing asshole who has betrayed not only the village, but your trust and admiration on several occasions. For Kami's sake, he's the reason you're in the hospital in the first place. At least hate him for that. Shizune sighed out loud in exasperation.

"I'm sorry you feel that way Shizune-nee, but I can't stop caring for Sasuke. He is like my older brother" Naruto sighed softly before continuing. "Sasuke might not show it, but he cares. If only just a little bit, he cares about me the same way. Maybe even slightly more. We only clashed because our wills and ideals were different from each other."

At this Shizune raised a single eyebrow. "You put too much trust in him. Right now even Sakura hates him. Though how do you know he cares for you." She asked somewhat intrigued. 'If not for anything else,this is an opportunity to know what makes him love that Uchiha bastard so much.' She inwardly mused.

"When me and Sasuke first clashed at the Valley of the End, when he was defecting to join Orochimaru, I was severely hard-pressed. He could have killed me with his Chidori. His attack was cursed seal powered. I didn't want to be a hindrance to his dreams so I couldn't kill him. He didn't have such restrictions. The day before we were sent to retrieve him I ran into him and I even assisted him in leaving."

 ** _FlashBack_**

 _Sasuke was standing near the gates to Konoha, hidden amongst some trees. He looked towards them wondering whether or not it was worth it. Whether it was worth leaving just to avenge his clan. Whether or not it was worth breaking the bonds he had formed just to gain power. If he trained hard enough, he could gain the necessary power to beat his brother here right._

 _He noticed laughter coming from the booth by the gates. Seated there were the eternal chunin gate guards Kotetsu and Izumo. They were playing a game of cards with some bottles of sake somewhat stashed around them. There were two bottles of sake in the open however, which they used to refill their saucers. They were quite drunk if the blush staining their faces was any indication. They were the perfect example of what he never wanted to become as a ninja. They were perfectly contented with their positions, never striving to become stronger._

 _'This is exactly why this village is so weak. No one tries to get stronger. They will only slow me down and prevent me from getting stronger. If I want to beat Itachi, I need to leave it all behind.'_

 _'If I'm going to escape, I need to slow them down a bit so they can't report to Hokage-sama.' He mused, his eyes trailed to the bottles of sake again. 'They seem to be hell-bent on finishing those. I might be able to drug their sake so they sleep for a little while longer. There should be some sleeping pills in the hospital. I can use that.' And with that the last currently loyal Uchiha went towards the hospital._

 _Walking into the hospital, he inquired from one of the nurses whether or not Tsunade was in the hospital. He was answered with a 'no' and additionally informed that her apprentice Shizune was also unavailable. As both were in the Hokage tower. Hearing this made him smirk. It was almost too easy. Swiping a bottle of the strongest sedative pills from the pharmacy was a piece of cake. The pharmacist had fallen asleep on the job._

 _Just another reason to leave this village. They weren't even paranoid to believe that they could be back stabbed or killed by one of their own. It was pitiful. However it was beneficial to him in this case, so he wouldn't complain._

 _'So far things are going good, nothing could possibly go wrong.' This was Uchiha Sasuke's last thought before fate decided to show him how wrong he was. This came in form of Sasuke's bumping into someone, his somewhat rival and best friend. Naruto Uzumaki._

 _"Sasuke, I didn't expect to see you here. Come to think of it I haven't seen you for a while now. Have you been avoiding me?" This was the voice of his blonde haired teammate. His sweet angelic voice reaching his ears and calming his soul._

 _As he gazed upon his teammate, he couldn't help but admire how beautiful he looked. Not handsome, but beautiful in the female sense. His long blonde hair that was matted down and combed into thin strands that framed his face. Long back length sun-kissed blonde hair, that looked like and felt so soft. Softer than even the softest of wool._

 _His face that held such soft, nigh-angelic features. His face looked more feminine than most females, he'll it was even beautiful enough to make the famous 'Ice Queens of Konoha' to doubt their femininity and sexuality. Thin long eyebrows and eyelashes, a cute button nose, a beautiful heart-shaped face with such smooth skin, it was almost unreal. And somehow those weren't his most appealing features. That went to his eyes. Eyes of the brightest blue. A lovely cerulean gem color that never failed to draw him in. Such calming, soothing eyes, filled with reminiscent of a child-like innocence._

 _His beautiful body that rivaled even the sexiest female forms was hidden under his outfit. It was only because of the joint bath they had with other male members of the Rookie 12 that he knew he was male. Kiba had cried out in outrage at the unfairness of it all. Shino was poker-faced, but kept staring at Naruto. Neji was the same as Shino. Lee kept mumbling about something concerning youth, not yelling for once much to Neji's silent pleasure. Chouji kept munching on chips, getting crumbs in the water. Shikamaru just fell asleep, although one could tell he was in denial. Needless to say things got very awkward._

 _"N-no," he stuttered, damn it!" It's not that, I could never avoid you." He said quickly. 'What was I thinking. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.' He mentally raved._

 _"What was that?" Naruto asked, seemingly not have heard him._

 _"Nothing!" Sasuke quickly replied with a slight blush on his cheeks. This was soooo out of character for him. Trying to save some of his pride he quickly tried to leave the vicinity._

 _"Well I'll be leaving now. I'll see you around later." Sasuke said turning and heading away from the gates._

 _Sasuke went only three steps before hearing Naruto call out. "You know you shouldn't try to lie to me Sasuke. If go through with what you're planning we might not see each other for a long time." At this Sasuke froze in his tracks. " I won't stop you though, I believe in you and I know you'll do the right thing. I'll at least bid you farewell though."_

 _Sasuke turned around with tears in his eyes, ran up to Naruto and gave him a big hug." If you tell anyone I said this I'll kill you, but I love you."_

 _"I love you too Sasuke." Naruto said separating from the hug and heading towards the hospital, waving behind him at Sasuke who smiled. Yes smiled._

 _**Flashback End**_

"If Sasuke is considered a traitor then I am too." Naruto said seriously to Shizune before smiling. "Anyways let's move on to a more important subject like did you rape me in my sleep?"

"Actually lets go back to the previous topic. I'd really like to hear more about it." A familiar voice said as Tsunade Senju, Godaime Hokage of the Konoha walked into the room.

"Baa-chan you came to see me. I wasn't expecting to see you!" Naruto said with a cheery smile on his face ignoring Tsunade's previous remark.

"Don't try to change the subject Naruto, I heard what you said." Tsunade said before glowering at him. "You betrayed the village. You helped Sasuke escape when you could have stopped him."

"But baa-chan everything worked out in the end right? I mean Sasuke came ba-" Naruto attempted to say before he was harshly cut off.

"Enough! I originally came here to console you for what I'm about to tell you, but now I am so disgusted by your actions that I don't cate how you take it." Tsunade angrily said making Naruto flinch.

"W-what is that baa-chan?" Naruto curiously asked feeling dread build up in his stomach.

"For the unanimous agreement of the leaders of the Shinobi villages, you will be irreversibly removed from position of Shinobi in any and all shinobi villages in the Elemental Nations."


	2. A New Friend A New Army

Clare, designated number 47, the Organisations weakest Claymore was heading through a forest path.

There were no bandits, no humans shooting scathing looks, no Yoma thankfully, and no signs of life apart from the animals either cautiously gazing at her or trying to hide.

All in all it was a rather relaxing moment, yet somehow she just knew it wouldn't last. A Claymore just can't catch a break.

She had just finished hunting a small pack of Yoma earlier in the day. Killing them was easy enough. Finding and luring them out was the hard part. Eventually they got tired of hiding and tried to ambush her.

Not one lived.

After giving the classic 'pay-the-creepy-dude-in-black' company motto she left without even a backward glance.

Since then things were rather quiet. She still had to meet up with her handler later, but till then she could relax.

That was worrying to her as everytime she let her guard down, something always happened. Something unexpected. She wasnt too good at expecting the unexpected.

Just good enough.

Clare ducked suddenly narrowly avoiding a lunge from a...frog?

Whilst it wasn't uncommon to run into animals this deep in the woods. Animals usually knew better than to attack Claymores. That and the fact that most frogs weren't as big as dogs.

The frog landed on its fore limbs swerving to a halt in front of a tree.

It allowed her a space of seconds to take in its form before pushing off in a large leap towards her at breakneck speeds that she couldn't anymore.

She had only enough time to draw her sword before it struck her in the side, sinking a tanto into her abdomen.

She felt intense pain and shock. Though she felt the former more than the latter.

No frog should be able to wield swords.

"What are you? Some frog breed of Yoma?"

The frog looked towards her like it could understand her. Then its eyes narrowed in fury and it charged her again.

Thinking quickly she swiftly elbowed it on the head, stunning it considerably. And once it released its grip, batted it away with the sharp side of her sword.

The frog didn't stand a chance. The sword cleaved it into two clean halves. It fell limply to the floor...and burst into smoke?

"What...just...happened?"

That was the only thought forming in her head. Animals didn't just turn into smoke.

Hell, animals didn't attack Claymores. Period.

She stared at the spot where the frog 'died' with great suspicion.

In retrospect, she should have just forgotten about it and left it alone.

She placed a hand on her abdominal region, the tanto in her stomach having turned to smoke. Blood flowed freely from the wound.

Covering the wound with her hand, she walked slowly forward. The wound healing at a fast rate.

Just as the wound finished closing up, she heard a loud puff sound. Turning her head she was greeted with, a headbutt, to the gut, by a much larger frog.

The impact launched her straight though several dozen trees causing her to grunt.

Planting her legs into the earth, Clare tried to slow herself from flying.

She ended up landing at a cliff ledge just millimeters from a terrible descent.

"What the hell? That was close." Clare muttered and secretly said a prayer to every deity in existence.

"How could a frog pack such a punch."

Just then there was a large impact that spurred up a dangerously loud rumble. Large amounts of dust was spurred up as a large toad the size of a horse landed in front of her.

Clare's legs shifted dangerously close to the end of the ledge.

The frog was huge in her eyes. Its skin was a dazzling blue with orange spots on its head and most of its back. It had a straw hat attached to its back.

She noted that it didn't seem to have any weapons. Then again the previous frog didn't have any either. So she was still wary of it, for that and its size.

"Oi woman, I'm not a damn frog. I'm a toad!" The toad yelled in indignation.

Clare was stunned silent. She couldn't begin to comprehend what just happened.

"Uh...uh...d-did you...j-just speak?" Was her most intelligible response to the situation.

The toad froze for a second as if remembering something, suddenly looking nervous.

"Uhhhhh... no?"

Unable to bear the shock of the situation, Clare's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted.

"Holy shit, she fell off the damn cliff. Well that was the plan, yeah I'm the man."

The toad said rhyming.

As Clare plummeted down the cliff, the toad dispersed into smoke.

She fell rapidly towards the deep lake at the bottom of the cliff. Her unconscious body landing into the lake with a large splash.

Timeskip (3 hours)

A body stirred slightly, eyes fluttered open as light shone upon them. Almond shaped silver irises shone reflecting the present sunlight.

A splitting headache impacted her skull. She tried to stand but her legs were too sleepy to respond.

A feeling of numbness spread throughout her body.

"I have to get up... if I don't I might die here." A sudden thought flashed through her head.

"I can't die until I kill her." Slowly a strange energy started flowing out of her. At an alarming rate the wounds and bruises on her body were healed.

She stood on one foot and then the other balancing herself. After a few seconds she could stand perfectly. The strange energy receeding inside her.

"Where am I?" she wondered aloud.

"I don't know. Don't you have the answer?" A voice answered.

She was instantly on guard, looking left and right for the source of said voice.

"Who are you?" No response. "Show yourself."

"I would if I could, it's not like I like being a voice in the forest 'ttebayo." The voice replied with childishly

with a verbal tic.

"You're strange, whoever you are." She just had to comment.

"Oi, who are you to go around judging people. When I get my hands on you..."

"You can't touch me though." She replied snarkily, secretely shocked that she could respond as such to a stranger.

"Yeah, that's a bummer, hey I just got a brilliant idea." The voice answered excitedly inciting Clare's interest.

"And what would that be?" She asked curiously though it was well hidden in her tone.

"You come find me." The voice stated happily like it was the smartest plan in the universe.

"Why would I do that?" Clare asked somewhat disappointed.

"Because... you'd be doing me a favor." was the reply.

"I don't even know you. You're just a voice I heard."

Clare answered back.

"That's another reason, you could get to know me." The obviously excited voice answered.

Clare immediately turned to leave.

"Hey, don't leave me here!" came a loud yell.

"Fine, I'll look for you strange voice." Clare replied while huffing.

"Really, that's awesome, just follow my voice."

"What else was there to follow." She muttered whilst walking.

After 10 minutes of navigating the forest, she came upon a canopy of trees. Inside it was a young boy of anout 17 years.

His black shirt and orange jacket were in tatters. He had on a pair of black shinobi sandals, and several weapon pouches hung loosely from his waist.

He had a very lean athletic build and a rather feminine frame. He seemed to be quite tall though a bit shorter than she was. His face was beautiful. Three whisker like marks on eack cheek, beautiful cerulean eyes and shoulder length blond hair framing his face in long bangs.

He wore what appeared to be a forehead protector with a strange symbol on his head. And he was chained to the ground in a complex matrix. A piece of paper with a strange marking on it at the centre of the matrix.

"Glad to see you make it." The boy said with genuine joy.

"Would you mind getting me outta this." he asked

"Actually the deal was to find you, which I've done." Clare answered

"Wait so you just came all the way out here to look at my face." he stated in disbelief.

"Well when you put it like that it makes me sound stupid." Then she shook her head and responded.

"How do I get you outta this..."

"It's Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki."

"So how do I get you out of this, Naruto Uzumaki." she asked again.

"What species are you?" he asked interrogating her.

"I'm human...mostly." her bland monotone carrying the message.

"Then it should work. Alright I want you to cut your thumb slightly and let the blood drip onto that paper."

She didn't question it and simply reached for the sword attatched to her back. Bringing it to her thumb she nicked it slightly wincing at the sharp pain.

Blood dripped from the cut onto the paper reddening it. Just as she was about to kick herself for expecting anything other than that, the seal began to glow faintly.

"The hell?" That was her only response to the situation as the character on the paper spread out into numerous tiny characters on the chains. Then they broke off dissipating into dust.

Naruto fell towards the ground his legs hasn't gone to sleep. Clare rushed towards his falling form suprising even herself at her urgency.

She placed his head on her lap as he tried to regain his bearings.

"Thanks for the assist erm..." he drawled out

"Clare." was the curt response.

"What a beautiful name. Anyways thanks for the assistance Clare. You're my most favorite person in the world."

"How'd you get chained to the ground over there."

Naruto's mood took a dramatic turn at that question.

"I was sealed away there by that bastard." he snarled.

"You seem to hate this person."

"Its actually people. Besides you're one to talk. You seem to truly despise someone. A certain Priscilla."

Clare's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"How are you familiar with that name?" she asked tensely.

"I read your mind. Haven't you noticed I've been speaking to you without moving my lips." She looked down and realized that his lips hadn't moved at all.

It was awe-inspiring to her.

"Since youve helped me today let's make a deal." he offered.

"What kind of deal?."

"Why don't we partner up. I'll help you find this Priscilla."

"And in exchange?" she prodded.

"In exchange you help me destroy Konoha."

"Deal."

While Clare didn't know what Konoha was she had a feeling she'd find out later.

"Cool. Well now that were partners, you'll have to carry me for a bit cause my body won't move."

"Fine."

She lifted him up supporting his body with hers and then place him on her back without obstructing the sword on her back.

"By the way Clare where the hell are we?" Naruto asked.

"If I'm correct in my assumption then I believe that were on the outskirts of a nearby city." she replied.

"Oh, so that's a good thing right?"

"Yes it is. In fact I have my next assignment there, in that city."

"Well since it's gonna take a while to get there, why don't you explain more about this place to me." he asked sonewhat politely.

"Why not? It wouldn't hurt to get to know my new partner a little bit more.


	3. Fiery Ideals

Naruto and Clare could be seen in an open area in a small town. Windows were shut, doors barred, and curtains drawn.

The blond shinobi himself was leaning on the wall of the building closest to him. Due to his inability to move properly because of the drowsiness his legs had felt, Clare had deemed him a hindrance. As soon as they arrived in the town she had told him to stay put whilst she did what her job entailed.

She had already begun to underestimate him, but he was fine with that. Besides the best ninja is always the underdog.

He turned and smiled at the pretty girl looking at him from the window behind him.

Said girl smiled and waved at him slightly before turning her attention back to 'skirmish' between Clare and the Yoma.

The female warrior had succeeded in lopping of the heads of most of the Yoma. The remaining one in a rare show of intelligence sprouted wings from its back and attempted to flee.

Clare however had other plans. Grabbing hold of her huge bladed weapon, she swung it, allowing it to soar through the air and striking the airborne Yoma. An instant kill.

Whilst Clare went to retrieve her sword from the corpse of her fallen adversary. He decided to make small talk with the girl in the window.

With a show of dexterity and unnatural physical capability he flipped backwards landing on the sill of the window surprising the girl. What was even more suprising to her was that he made no sound nor gave rise to even the smallest dust cloud.

"Hello little girl. How are you doing?" he asked with a friendly smile to which the girl responded with one of her own.

"F-Fine." A one word answer. He was suprised but he did notice her struggle quite a bit with that one word.

"That's good to hear, I noticed you weren't scared when you saw those things." he said using his thumb to indicate the Yoma. "Didn't they frighten you."

"N-no." she replied.

"Really, and why not." he asked very impressed with the young girl. Most children would have shut themselves in teriified. Even a great many adults would. This town's occupants being a prime example.

His reply was for her to point at him and and smile.

S-strong."

He smiled so wide that it threatened to split his face in half. His partner's grunts of exertion as she battled disappeared from his mind.

Speaking of which it seemed to him that Clare had forgotten all the insane occurrences he had pulled off, like talking to her telepathically, or reading her mind. Hell his telepathy

While it was annoying to have someone view you as unimportant when you weren't. He didn't feel like blowing up a mountain just to jog her memory. That would be stupid.

"Oh so you think I'm strong." he said flexing his muscles at her comically causing her to giggle and nod.

"Well then if you really believe that, jusr think of me when you're in trouble and I'll be there to save you." Naruto reassured her fondly.

"By the way I didn't get your name, my name's Naruto. The lady that beat all those monsters is Clare and you are?" he asked.

"Lillian." she answered without any trouble this time. Naruto deduced that there was nothing wrong with her speech. She just didn't know too many words. As expected of a child.

It was a good thing he kept his words simple and direct or he might end up confusing both the girl and himself. He had learnt how to speak their language from Clare. He used a process involving quite a bit of tongue.

"Lili-chan. That's what I'll call you from now on. Well Clare should be arriving soon."

Just then a feminine yell came from inside the house.

"Lillian get away from the window. Its too dangerous." came from deeper in the house interrupting Naruto.

"And your mother seems to be calling you, so I'll get outta your hair. See ya around sweetie." He said before jumping back to his previous position whilst the girl went in shutting the window.

A few seconds later Clare arrived.

"Are you ready to leave yet?" she asked in that same monotonous voice that made Naruto wonder if she was mocking him.

"Yeah I'm about done here, besides its not like I had anything to do in the first place." he complained.

"That cannot be helped. Until you can actually defend yourself in a fight. You'll be more of a hindrance than a help in a fight.

That served the purpose of annoying the male blond. He swore silently to get her back for this.

"Anyways where are we going now Clare?" he asked.

"We're going to be on the road for a while until I'm sent on another job." she replied before turning to leave the town.

"Really now, well I guess that's a nice change of pace from the past month."

"I realize that this may be rather boring for you, however I cannot simply let you jump in anytime you want to." She paused and turned to face him.

"That would be irresponsible and would put you under severe scrutiny from the organization." she finished

Naruto took a moment to blink.

'So she was just looking out for me. Thats a nice thought.'

"Besides, whilst you are able to do some rather 'interesting' things. You have yet to show any combat prowess."

"I see." he tried to keep the irritation he felt hidden but she seemed to catch it.

"You are not allowed to get involved in my missions...however, you may do anything else to keep yourself entertained."

She spoke in the same monotone, her voice never betraying her emotions. Naruto however caught the slightest amount of care in her eyes. It seemed she had grown rather fond of him.

The thought made him smile. Then he mentally scrutinized her words, and gained a mischievous grin.

Clare spotted it and grew slightly unnerved.

"Anything?" He asked his grin growing as he stressed the word.

"Within reason, of course." She didn't know why she said it, she just felt it had to be said.

She felt that was the right thing to say as she noticed his grin dissapear, a pout replacing it.

"Awwww. You're no fun 'ttebayo."

She didn't respond.

"So where are we going anyway." he asked

"We're heading to a neighbouring town, I have been informed that some other warriors like myself will be accompanying us for the hunt. Of course they have not been informed of you."

"Yeah it's probably for the best. I'm guessing you don't want me to fight with you. To keep myself incognito." Naruto stated rather than asked.

She didn't turn around to face him, however he could swear he could pick up a conspiratorial tone in her voice. And he liked it.

"I never said you couldn't fight, I simply said the organisation mustn't know of you. So it dimply means we'll just have to kill them all before the others arrive."

"I think I love you."

She stumbled slightly at the unexpected declaration before righting herself to a more dignified position.

"If you want to get in on the action, I suggest we hasten our steps in-. That was all she could say before she found herself weightless. The scenery melting into blurs before dissapearing completely.

All she could see was a tunnel of bright colours before they melted into blurs as well. Then she felt her body being pulled fiercely towards the end of the tunnel. Then white filled her vision.

Ten minutes later

"Huff, huff...this sucks." Naruto complained as he took in greedy gulps of air. Clare stood at his side as he bent forward in exhaustion.

"That's what you get when you run so fast. I can't even call that running, you teleported half the way here"

"How else were we supposed to get there...besides I've run greater distances than this before and i never felt this tired. This feels a lot like chakra depletion."

Clare quirked a brow at the odd term.

"Chakra?" she parroted.

"Yeah, it's kinda hard to explain and I can't get into all the details right now. What I can say is that it's the energy inside every living thing and it's what keeps us alive.

Clare nodded and opted not to press any further...for the moment. She instead opted to ask a question that took more prevalence at the time.

"Are you able to continue or do I have to carry you there?" Though she tried her hardest she couldn't stop concern from seeping into her voice. Naruto tried his best to smile but the fatigue showed clearly on his face.

"To be honest I feel like passing out right here and now, so I guess you'll have have to burden yourself with me." Clare said nothing instead she just lifted him up and onto her back while he draped her hands around his neck. He made sure to grip tight enough to hang on but loose enough to not strangle the life out of her when moving.

When he finally found a position he was comfortable with he let her know. She closed her eyes and opened them up to reveal feral yellow eyes with a dark brown slitted iris eerily reminiscent of a feline. She then blasted down the path she and Naruto were treading previously. In a burst of speed she vanished from her spot several times blurring over bushes and fallen trees. She jumped over landfills and chasms, clearing them easily. After running for quite a while, she dropped into a dead sprint, clearing several miles in record time. All the while Naruto snored softly on her back.

'I don't remember being able to run this fast before...this feeling it's incredible, it's so exhilarating...where did all this power come from?' she absently glanced at her 'passenger', the young blonde slept peacefully, his breathing soft and even.

'Could he be the-...no, that's impossible. He doesn't even have the strength to walk on his own, much less give to someone else.' She took another glance at his frail-looking form.

'There has to be some other explanation. Whatever it is I'll worry about it later, right now my priority is getting to the next town...I promised to let him fight but in this condition he'd just get killed. I'll just have to drop him off at an inn and complete the job myself.'

With a great leap she was out of the forest range and on a beaten dirt path. In seconds she found herself past it all and at the gate entrance of the town. Deactivating her yoki she walked through the gate into the familiar whispers that always accompanied 'claymores' as they were called.

"Hey is that her?"

"Yeah she's the one, cant you tell by the blond hair and silver eyes." the aforementioned silver eyes seemed to glow with an almost sinister looking purple hue.

"Why did the chief have to invite this demon into our village, one of them is enough, we don't need another Yoma. Is he trying to double the casualties or something."

"Yeah but these witches have something against their own kind which us really good for us. If were lucky maybe they'll kill each other, and we'll finally be free of them."

"For a witch she doesn't look half bad. I might even get a nice pet out of it if I can show the bitch her place..." Clare turned sharply to stare at the man who just spoke. He was rather heavily built like most would expect from a local blacksmith. His muscles were nothing to scoff at, and he was rather handsome however the ugly sneer he sported deducted too many points from his overall appeal.

"Tch." she scoffed and continued on her way.

"What, you got something to say to me bit-hmmm." the words died in his mouth as a hand muffled his speech.

"Jona, you looking to die or something? What the hell do you wanna make her angry for? What if she killed you or worse decided to let the Yoma eat us...I've already lost two sons to that thing I'm not gonna lose another because you decided to do something foolish." Jona's apparent savior said before taking his hand off the bigger man's mouth.

"Alright I'll let her kill the Yoma first. She seems pretty close to that girl she's carrying...maybe I'll help myself to that fine looking thing first, I'll show that slut what it means to cross 'Jona the Gravedigger '."

"All you've got is a big mouth and a big name...it's a mystery how they haven't pegged you as the guy who raped all those poor girls." the other man said while Jona smiled smugly.

Clare never broke stride, even whilst listening to the whispered conversation. After all her job was to slay the Yoma. It was not her place to interfere in the lives of the townspeople.

Naruto on the other hand didn't share her sentiments. His eyes opened to reveal dark coal coloured eyes, showing that he was awake and had heard all that was said.

Unbeknownst to his female companion his eyes warped and shifted like a veil was being pulled over then as they switched back to their regular blue colour. Then he closed his eyes once more and went back to sleep.

Sitting on a pile of crates a good distance away, at a good height a lean built figure kept his eyes on Clare. Apprehension was clear in the figures eyes as be gazed upon the Claymore.

"So those bastards finally made a move, huh...but still to invite a Claymore here it means their getting desperate. Well its been fun but it's time for me to get out of here." then the figure lost any trace of humanity, shifting from normal to a warped distorted version. Before finally settling on something borderline demonic.

"After a final meal of course..." it grinned viciously. Its dark brown hair blowing furiously in the wind as it laughed to itself.

Evening that day

"I ask that you take good care of him till I get back" she dropped a small pouch on the drawer by the bed as she addressed the innkeeper. "This should be enough to cover any expenses we may incur.

The aged innkeeper looked ready to have a heart attack. The amount of bera in the bag was enough to book the whole inn for two whole months...and here she was paying for a single day. The sheer shock caused his attention to drift elsewhere. He was barely able to respond to her.

"Yes, yes you don't need to worry I'll take very good care of your lady friend." she quirked a brow at him calling Naruto a lady however there was nothing about him that they could see to say otherwise.

Unless they decided to undress him but that option was off the table at the moment.

"I should be back before dark, do not let anyone else into this room."

"Of course, you don't need to worry...p-pardon me for asking this, but you're going to kill the Yoma right?"

She glanced straight at him and replied almost robotically. "Yes that is the mission I have been charged with."

"Don't you guys have anything better to do...I mean no one's happy that they eat people and all but so do wild animals, I hate them more than anything but turning myself into a demon just to fight them just isn't worth it in my opinion ." the innkeeper blurted out.

Clare who was unaccustomed to such a viewpoint was reasonably put off. In all her life she had never met any human who questioned her ideals before. Most humans wanted as little contact with Claymores as possible.

"As far as I know, the only reason anyone should have to go that far is if you've got a personal grudge against 'em." As soon as he said the words, several images rushed through Clare's mind. A headless body, a monster with a large horn jutting out of its head, and a horrified child with a woman's head in her hands.

"You're right, I do have a grudge against the Yoma especially one. There's one that I want to kill...no, that I will kill."

"What did they do to you?" the old man asked genuinely curious.

Clare simply continued walking towards the door, her claymore strapped to her back as she made her way out of the room.

"Hold on a minute, what do I do with the kid if you don't come back?" he shouted after her.

"I will be back to collect when my mission is complete." she replied then shut the door behind her, making her way down the stairs and out the inn.

The old man stared at the door she just walked through moments ago. Then he grinned as his form was covered in a dark red energy as he morphed. His scanty graying hair spiked up and out, his weak tiring frame became more lithe and well built, with well defined abs and pectorals. His old-looking robes were replaced with a long sleeved black shirt with a black jacket. Long black pants and red sneakers were on his legs. After a few more seconds the red miasma dissipated and the man's face could be clearly seen. A handsome face with exotic looking markings mapping the sides from just beneath the eyes to his jawline on each side. A rather peculiar abnormality about this young man was his unusual salmon coloured hair.

"That girl certainly doesn't need any more drive. She's gonna be just fine, you don't need to worry about her." He then opened his eyes revealing a change from the dull satin brown they once were to slitted poison green eyes eerily reminiscent of a viper.

"Though you'd probably know about that by now wouldn't you...Naruto."

The sleeping blonde's eyes cracked open slowly as they took in the powerful youth before him. Recognition swam through his blue orbs as he stared at the pink haired man. Then he spoke.

"What the hell happened to me...Natsu?"

Elsewhere

Clare looked around persistently for her target, eager to return to her charge. The Yoma she was tasked with slaying was rather crafty though. She could feel it's presence in the town. The problem though was that it was everywhere. On every roof, down every street, round every bend. It had left it's mark all over the small town such that trying to determine it's current location out of the myriads of misdirections was impossible for her.

She wasn't a sensor type warrior so trying to feel it out by it's yoki was more of a burden than anything else. However the Yoma made a critical error. By trying to throw her off he was giving her a rough estimate of his capabilities.

She could roughly estimate his speed, strength and size. However until she could that was irrelevant at the moment. If she couldn't find it then she couldn't kill it.

"I can't just keep walking around like this, the Yoma won't make a move as long as it suspects that I'm still on guard." She sat down next to the town gate sticking her blade deep into the ground.

She then sat against it using the flat side as a pseudo backrest. Her brows furrowed in thought as she pondered her options.

She sat at the gated entrance motionless until the sun started to set.

"You're rather persistent aren't you? It won't do you any good to keep standing there watching me. I'd advise you to leave"

From behind a stack of crates a little distance away a boy walked out. He appeared to be in his early teens and his eyes shone with curiosity.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to seem rude but when they said there was a Claymore in town I really wanted to meet you. We don't really get a lot of visitors around here." He seemed a bit sheepish about being called out and his voice had a childlike quality to it.

"I'm Raki, it's nice to meet you, what's your name?"

Clare remained silent, her eyes steeled on the boy. She barely heard anything that he said, all she was focused on was the faint stench of blood that seemed to surround the boy.

With Naruto

"...I see, so that's what happened. Will you be able to fix it?"

"Who do you think you're talking to. I'll fix it up and make you better than you've ever been before." Natsu responded almost haughtily.

"And what will it cost me?" Naruto asked as he stared at his somewhat friend. The guy was easy to get along with but he usually needed some payment for any favors.

"I need you to bring back a friend of mine." Natsu said seriously. His eyes steely yet desperate.

"We've been over this before, the only way for the revival technique to work is if I have the DNA of the person I want to resurrect and I'll also need to have a human sacrifice." Naruto responded sharply.

"This continent is filled with all sorts of vermin so a sacrifice should be no problem."

"Well that's great and all but without the DNA the I cann-."

Naruto choked on his words as he gazed at the strand Natsu gently cradled in his open palms. A tiny almost nonexistent sliver of blue.

"How did you get that? I thought you said there was nothing left so how is this here?"

Natsu looked almost longingly at the hair in his hand, stretching his left hand, a muffler materialized on it almost like a veil was pulled off it. It had a scale-like pattern and was a pure white.

"I found a tiny sample in the scarf while I was purifying it. The last piece of him that still exists in this world. It took me a lot of work to grow it to this level"

Natsu dropped to his knees teary-eyed before the blond ex-shinobi.

"Please Naruto, bring Happy back." the teary eyed pinkette cried, his eyes stained the color of desperation.

This was not the man he called a friend, once upon a time, this man would never bow to anyone or anything. From what he was told Naruto knew that he was very much like him. He preferred to break every bone in his body than admit defeat to anyone. Right now that man was gone, he always disappeared when it concerned the cat he called a son.

They had both come to realize something, that strength isn't all that matters.

One was betrayed by the people he strived to protect, helpless to stop it while the other watched immobile, as his childhood companion was erased into nothingness.

"I'll do it." he whispered almost silently

With that one statement hope spread across the pinkette's face. With that hope came an established loyalty. Nothing could stop him from celebra-

"I always thought you were off you rocker old man." The disgusting voice was accompanied with the slow creaking of the door. Natsu scowled darkly his faux appearance reestablished.

"I mean, closing up the bar at noon, when me and my buddies are just starting to feel the buzz from that booze. Even when I offer to pay extra. That's just strange."

The door opened completely with a sudden jerk slamming into the wall with a 'bang'. Standing in the doorway was a very familiar man.

"Jona, what are you doing here? We're closed. Didn't Vivian tell you that." Natsu shot with a lot of bite. Naruto was impressed by his acting skills. He seemed to be nothing more than an irate old man at the moment.

Natsu was met by a vicious backhand that sent his old body tumbling to the ground. His head bled as he crashed against the floorboards.

"I didn't come here for some booze, I came for the hot piece of ass that's currently sitting in your shitty bed." with a flick of his wrist three men were upon the blonde. He struggled against them but they managed to bind him and bag his head.

"Stop! Where are you taking him Jona? The Claymore will have your head if you touch him." Natsu cried weakly from the floor.

"What a fool."

"You got one of the most exotic beauties to ever grace this town in your inn. And what so you do, you yell at her to bring your son back to life."

"Worthless old man."

"I can't believe you think this hottie is a dude. You need to get your eyes checked, lousy bastard."

Insults were flung at the supposed frail old man by the members of Jona's gang. The man himself gained a disgusting smile as he gazed at the man.

"By the way, I took the liberty of helping myself to your little assistant. We'll get to her after we finish with the foreign girl." the large man said as he sauntered out of the room.

Walking down the stairs he looked in two other men in the eyes. They wordlessly handed over a bound and gagged brunette in a waitress outfit and an apron. Then they made their way upstairs, knives in hand, evil intents in their eyes.

Jona effortlessly lifted the brunette over his shoulder, another of his men carried Naruto in a similar manner.

Dusk had started to set in, the townspeople had resigned themselves to their homes in fear of the Yoma. This left Jona's gang with enough freedom to do as they pleased under the cover of darkness.

With Raki

The young boy ran towards home hoping his older brother wouldn't be too angry at him. He was rather happy at being able to talk to the Claymore, even if he did all the talking.

His house soon came into view, he walked in unaware of the beast that lurked in his own house. Blissfully oblivious of the fact that this would be his last moments alive.

"Baki I'm ho-"

Clare jumped down from a rooftop, landing in a crouch, her eyes feral slits as she sprinted urgently towards the house she saw the boy go through.

With a mighty swing the door was split into two halves. She was just in time to witness a murder.

The boy, Raki was laying on the floor, his body cleaved in twain, his face bore the expression he had as he walked in. Blood splatters on the walls and floor around the body.

For most this sight would forever serve as nightmare fuel. clare however had grown accustomed to it from her experience in slaying the monsters. For the Yoma feasting on the boy however, this was an ideal dinner setting.

"Hah!" with a mighty yell Clare was upon it her large broadsword aiming to cleave it in two. The Yoma was surprisingly agile for its size however, as it bent its knees springing forward past Clare with a mighty leap.

"So you're here Claymore, I was hoping to leave without running into you." It said as it picked up a table."But after having a taste of that boy, I'm no longer so eager to give up my hunting ground."

Clare ducked under the thrown furniture, the table crashing into the wall behind her and imbedded itself deeply in it.

"I've gotta ask how you found me though, I made sure to mask my yoki since you arrived here."

"I couldn't track you by your aura and it would've taken a longer period of time for me to find you normally, until Raki approached me. At first I thought he was the Yoma because of the strong scent of blood on him."

In a flash Clare was beside him, she took his left arm which erupted in a large spurt of purple blood. He roared in pain as he jumped back clutching the stump.

"However he had the natural scent of a human, so I figured that he must have some ties to you. All in all it would've been more of a hassle to find you had it not been for him." She said as she made to take his head.

"So it's all that little bastard's fault is it? The stupid brat was only alive because his asshole brother kept fighting my influence! I'm so glad I killed him, I'll kill you next! Then I'll kill all those townspeople until there's no one le-"

It's ramblings were put to an abrupt halt when it's head was split from its torso, blood gushing freely around it as bled out.

Clare's eyes glinted ferociously from behind her hair, her face popping with veins and razor sharp teeth. She gazed once more at the dead Yoma before returning to her normal appearance.

"Now that the mission is complete I should make my way to Naruto. We shall leave in the morning when he is properly rested." she resolved to herself as she absently headed for the inn.

She was snapped from her thoughts as screams of panic filled the air, then the thick smell of smoke reached her nostrils.

'Bandits. No that's impossible they'd be too put off to attack a town with a Claymore in it.' she noticed that the smoke only seemed to come from one direction.

'Maybe a house caught fire.' she thought as she picked up the pace.

After getting a good amount of momentum she blasted off her feet from her running start, and onto a rooftop.

From her new elevated height came a better view of the town. She was left horrified however when she saw that a whole street had caught fire.

People rushed from their homes panicked with buckets of water to put out the fire, some tried to save their belongings, while the children were ushered away from the fire in tears and panic.

Clare mimicked their terror perfectly though, when she saw the signboard of the inn she had left Naruto in completely wreathed in the growing flames.

For the first time in a long time, Clare felt true despair, like she did when Teresa died. With an unholy roar she practically flew towards the fire, atop the rooftops very much like a ninja.

'Naruto, you can't die, you're not allowed to die.'

"I won't let you!"


	4. To Bury A Gravedigger

Natsu had never been as pissed as he was right now. He stood tall in the room of his destroyed inn covered in flames. His aged disguise forsaken completely as he assumed his true form. His pink hair fluttered violently. His pupils blazed and constricted in anger.

The polished wooden floors burnt fiercely, so did the walls and the door. Everything that didn't turn to ash was melting rapidly.

'How dare they! How dare they!!!' he screamedd in his head.

He could hear screams from outside the building. The panicked cries of anguish and terror. He knew that the fire must have spread past his inn to the surrounding houses. He could feel the confusion that permeated the air.

But his rage overpowered it all.

His one conscious thought was to find the man who angered him and make him pay.

He closed his eyes as if in prayer, every nerve in his body steeled in concentration. After a few moments of blank silence, a small yellow light shone in his mind. It acted like a marker telling him exactly where his target was.

By the time Natsu opened his eyes, he was gone from the room, every flame in the room extinguished violently by that single gust, the window blown from the wall raining glass and wood on everything underneath.

After a few seconds something came crashing through the space where the window used to be, raising no small amount of debris as it crashed through the weakened floorboards to the first floor of the establishment.

That something was revealed to be none other than Clare. She looked around confused and irritable.

"What the hell is going on in this town?"

Clare was quite understandably frustrated. Just a few moments earlier she had charged at this building with a ferocity that surprised herself.

Abandoning all instincts of self preservation that had been installed in her as a child. She jumped from a rooftop three blocks away without any thought for the consequences, not even regarding the fact that it was still on fire.

As she drew closer however she felt something that would certainly have given her pause had she not already jumped. A buildup of what could only be regarded as sheer power, then it wanished replaced by a deafening explosion.

The strangest thing was that the fires that clung tightly to all the houses on the street were blown, or rather sucked away.

And it all originated from the room which she had fallen through and could now literally see into from the large hole she had created.

"This town is really making me lose my mind, I mean who has ever heard of fires starting and ending by themselves."

She pondered as she walked up the stairs that somehow remained intact.

She walked through the destroyed door if the room she had booked in the inn. Walking cautiously painfully aware of how close to collapse the place was.

Taking in the room, careful to note anything out of place, she found the pouch of bera she had placed on the dresser had melted into a steady stream of gold.

The dresser, the wardrobe and even the bed had been reduced to a charred mess. The scent of burnt wood was heavy in the air.

Taking a sniff, Clare's managed to pick up something. A foreign yet vaguely familiar scent. A second whiff of the fleeting air told her exactly what it was and where she had smelt it.

'The one who called himself Jona was here and he took Naruto.' Her temper started to rise and so did her dread. 'Even if I have to go rogue for this I'll make sure I kill him.' she vowed to herself.

Several dozen civilians were spooked when Clare jumped down from the collapsed window. One fell flat on her butt as Clare landed next to her with a squawk of fright.

Clare simply walked past her without paying her any mind. She was too focused on finding Naruto to care about anything or anyone else.

Her eyes change to the feline slitted eyes that was characteristic for Claymores when they used ten percent of their Yoki. As she prepared herself for a sprint trying to track Jona by scent alone, until she caught sight of another familiar face.

 **With Naruto**

'How did I get myself into this mess?' Naruto couldn't help but wonder sometimes. Most prominently right now.

He was slung over the shoulder of a man who was twice his size with a bag over his head while a woman in pretty much the same situation as him kept screaming right into his ear.

He was half hoping to hear the familiar voice of his best friend rumble through his head. Nothing, Kurama wasn't speaking to him. Not just him but all of them, he had searched his mindscape repeatedly but he couldn't get a lock on the tailed beasts' location.

He could still feel them through the link that existed between tailed beast and jinchuuriki, but it was like they were everywhere yet nowhere at the same time. It was almost like the massive beasts had been scattered and spread throughout his mindscape. He had a feeling that damn seal was the cause of it. After all Natsu had said so himself.

'Maybe it also restricts my link with Kurama and the others. That bastard really spared no expense to screw me over.'

"Jona, I think this is far enough from the town. The Claymore won't be able to find us out here. Besides any further and we'll be trespassing into Hali's territory." A masculine voice spoke breaking him from his thoughts.

"Please, like I fear that no-good crook and his conniving band of thieves! Still this does seem far enough from the Claymore. I don't wanna have to walk too long to get back home."

"Whatever you say boss." Some light snickering at the larger man's expense.

Two yelps were heard as both Naruto and Vivian we're dropped unceremoniously to the ground. The young woman frightened out of her mind while the blond was miffed.

"Has anyone spotted Ura and Reol?" Jona asked. "They're taking way too long to kill an old man."

"No sign of them boss, maybe they decided to cover their tracks to prevent the Claymore from finding them."

To Naruto that meant that Natsu had probably killed them. He wasn't going to tell his kidnappers that though.

"Well we can't stand here waiting for them all night. We'll just have to start without them." Jona declared while pulling the bag off both their heads.

"WHO WANTS TO GO FIRST!!!"

"Sorry to spoil your fun, but nobody will be doing anything of the sort."

A voice rang out causing the group to be on edge as murmurs broke out. Everyone looking around cautiously for the owner of the voice.

"WHO GOES THERE? SHOW YOURSELF!!!"

As soon as he said that two red balls came shooting out of the treeline, hitting two men right in the head and killing them instantly.

Vivian screamed and the men took up defensive positions as they huddled round one another. Naruto simply allowed himself to watch the upcoming slaughter.

"It's a Yoma!!!"

"Not even close, take another guess." The group found themselves staring face to face with a handsome pinkette.

Natsu had his eyes narrowed, his brows furrowed in anger. This expression was quickly mirrored by Jona as he stared down the brat that dared to kill two of his men.

"Kill him!!!"

With those two words all hell broke loose.

 **With Clare**

Clare was sprinting at top speed towards the direction of Jona's camp. How she knew where to go was all thanks to the man she was dragging alongside her.

The man was an average looking man. He had brown hair, and eyes and was wearing very modest clothing. Clare had spotted him in town staring emptily at a burning building. He was the same man that she had seen talking to Jona this morning.

After forcing him to tell her where to find the man he had pointed northwards, and she immediately sprinted through the town in that direction. In her haste she had dragged him along with her by the arm in one of the most uncomfortable journeys of his life.

Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach when she felt something, an overwhelming prescence up ahead as her eyes managed to catch a faint hellish red glow.

She steeled her nerves. Her mind entirely focused on only one thing and that was getting her partner back. After running for quite a few miles she could smell something or someone running towards her.

She stopped and sent her passenger flying forward landing in a heap on the floor. She got into a defensive position ready to cleave through anything that came at her. After a few moments Jona came running towards them desperate to get away from something

"You bastard." She blasted off at him ready to cleave him in two.

Just as her blade was about to nick him, she was forced to jump back on sheer instinct. Clare was confused as to what was going on and tried to have at him again only for the situation to repeat itself.

Jona seemed to come to his senses pulling out a fragment from around his neck and waving it at her in a threatening manner.

"I knew this thing still worked. After all, you're no different from Yoma" He said to both her and himself.

"Listen up Claymore, I don't know what kind of monster your friend is but I know that if this touches you, you're gonna be in a lot of pain. So I want you to take your friend and go as far away from this town as you possibly can. Or else."

He emphasized his point by swinging the fragment at her forcing her to flinch back.

He was scared that much was certain. Why he was in such a state she did not know. He mentioned her friend so he must have been talking about Naruto. But for the life of her, she couldn't possibly think of anything Naruto could have done to terrify him to such an extent.

What she knew was that his necklace was all kinds of bad news. It kept giving her the vibe of impending doom, and her Yoma side was screaming at her to get the fuck out of dodge. She had to actively release her yoki to keep herself from running as far away as possible.

"Yorin, get behind me I'll protect you from her." Jona shouted at the man to laying off to the side as he took a few steps towards Clare, forcing her to step even further back as she growled at him in anger. Her yellow orbs glowering furiously at him.

Clare's unwilling passenger hurriedly stood and started for his friend, terrified of the Claymore. He was already halfway there when a high pitched shrieking sound was heard. As the sound flew past him Yorin was treated to the sight of his own headless body falling to a heap before his friend.

His eyes lost all life in it, turning a dull milky colour. A disgusting stench following as he lost control of his bowels.

"Tsk tsk tsk tsk, I thought I already told you Jona. I guess I'll just have to say it again till it sticks."

A voice was heard coming from the same direction the shriek came from. As the person walked out of the shadows of the trees his face was revealed to them.

Naruto stepped out of the trees, his eyes focused on the large man. He looked a little worse for wear his shirt being torn at the sleeves. But he felt powerful, a lot more powerful than he did before.

Then he turned to Clare and waved. The seemingly random gave her a good look at his eyes. His right one was a blood red colour with black tomoe markings with a ring running through them and a single dot pupil in it. The right had a royal purple colour with concentric rings but had several tomoe in the rings bearing some similarity to the right one. They glowed slightly in the moonlight. Their almost hypnotic power serving to remind Jona of the hell he had just run away from.

 **Several minutes earlier**

Natsu lurched at a man landing a vicious hook to the jaw, and kicking at another who tried to get too close from behind him.

A quick cartwheel to the left got him out of the way of a knife aimed for his right eye. The man was promptly disarmed and rewarded by having his legs pulled out from under him courtesy of a sweep kick.

Pushing up on both hands sent him above the head of a club wielder whose throat was swiftly slashed open in a violent spray of blood. Natsu was then forced to engage four men at the same time. With swift punches and kicks that they couldn't follow they found themselves pummeled into the ground. One was unfortunate to be within range when Natsu swung the knife for his face.

He clutched his face staggering back to where Naruto sat bound screaming in pain as the blood flowed gently from between his fingers. He was silenced when the knife was kicked deftly into his skull with an audible crack. His life snuffed out in an instant. Vivian passed out at this point her mind unable to handle any more, while Naruto stealthily worked his way to the dead man with a purpose.

"Is that all you've got?" The young man asked still furious yet unimpressed.

"W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU." One particularly brave man shouted. Natsu turned to him.

"Up till a few minutes ago I was an old frail innkeeper up till you guys, came along and made me wreck the place."

"No way it can't be. That stupid old man was a Yoma?"

"I'm not a Yoma, though that doesn't mean I'm not as terrifying. No in fact, I'm something far worse than a Yoma."

Jona stepped forward arms bulking as he moved towards the pinkette, brandishing a large sword.

"It doesn't matter what you are, I've killed as many Yoma as those Claymores. My monster repellant will weaken you beasts and leave you as easy pickings for my sword."

He boasted loudly trying to raise the morale of his group.

Natsu tilted his head slightly in curiosity.

"Monster repellant? Sounds like a scam thought up by a really uncreative con artis-."

Natsu jumped back on pure instinct as the bulky man pulled out something from underneath his brown shirt. A pendant with a dull gray tint that grew brighter the closer it drew to Natsu.

"You like this huh, demon scum. I got this handy little thing from a wandering girl. When she told me it could protect me from Yoma I didn't believe it but I decided to hold on to it."

The man stopped talking to grin maliciously.

"I'm so glad I did cause since then I've been killing Yoma left and right like it's nothing!" The huge sword he held raised above his head before jumped forward swinging it down vertically.

Naruto had decided to step in at this point, the knife Natsu had discarded earlier held firmly in his hand and enhanced with wind chakra stopping the larger blade from cutting through them. Sparks flew as the blades clashed with one another. However there was a clear difference in cutting power as Naruto's blade struck Jona's and slowly but surely chipping it in places.

The man could hardly believe his eyes, he couldn't see the chakra surrounding the blade but the effects were as clear as day.

"The pretty chick was a Yoma too? This night just keeps getting weirder and weirder. No matter I'll make quick work of you, then I'll reward myself with that wench over there. Who knows a few of the guys might wanna play with your dead body."

He said as their blades crashed against each other, Jona having the height advantage put a lot more force behind his attacks.

"You are a foul and disgusting excuse for a human being. Talking so casually about something so disgusting, you sicken me."

Naruto grunted out using his strength to push the man back.

While it appeared that they were equally matched Naruto knew that that wasn't true. A particularly heavy strike forced his knees to buckle, the 'Gravedigger' finally taking to using both hands in the fight.

"Sorry beautiful, but you're about to be in a lot of pain!!!"

The pendant he held being pressed against Naruto's forehead. Jona expected to hear the anguished shrieks of the blond, as that was common amongst Yoma. He did not expect to have a kick placed firmly between his legs.

"RAARGH, MY BALLS. YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT WENCH."

He screamed in fury and frustration as his pendant seemed to have no effect on Naruto.

"This is for kidnapping me." A swift headbutt.

"This is for trying to rape me." A swift jab followed, then a spin kick, and a roundkick. Jona was getting frustrated so he sent a knee for the ex-shinobi's gut.

A 360 degree spin on his left leg sent him out of the way of the attack though, as he crouched low to the ground and channeled all his strength into his right arm, his legs sprung upward with amazing strength.

"And this is for everything bad thing you've said about Clare."

With the statement came a swift uppercut that shattered the man's jaw. To his credit the man managed to find his balance and stay upright but the blood trail running down his chin filled Naruto with satisfaction. He was about to continue his assualt when he had to duck under a club aimed for his head.

The man who swung it glaring at him, while staring defensively in front of Jona. A quick look around found him staring at the group of eleven that saw Jona as their leader.

He was so caught up in the fight that he forgot he had jumped into a fight against multiple opponents.

'Shit, this is bad 'ttebayo, I'm almost at my limit. I can't handle all of them as I am now.' he cursed.

He was suddenly alerted to someone's prescence behind him when that person grabbed him by the arms and ripped the sleeves of his shirt. Panic took him for a moment before a voice reached his ears.

"Sorry to burden you with this Naruto but this guy's necklace is really screwing my mind right now. If I were to try fighting at this moment I would probably go berserk and kill everyone in the area around me. Since you seem to be unaffected I'll be leaving this fight to you. Kick his ass good."

Natsu said as he grabbed Naruto by the shoulder, the markings around his eyes glowed orange for a moment working their way of from the base of his face to the inside of his eyes before dying out as he channeled his power into the seal on Naruto's shoulders.

"Second World Cycle: Abyss Break."

A hellish red glow bathed the area for a faint few seconds blinding everyone. When the light died down, there stood Naruto, he looked largely the same, save for the black tint his hair took. The most peculiar pronounced change however was noticed when he opened his eyes they were treated to the sight of two of the most unique frightening eyes they had ever seen. One purple and one red with several strange markings in them.

He literally pulsed with power. Then he turned his gaze to Jona as he addressed him.

"Jona, I want you to start running. I'll give you a thirty seconds headstart before I hunt you down and kill you."

He stated with a strange sense of confidence that was missing just moments before.

"DON'T MOCK ME YOU BASTARD I'LL KILL YOU."

He screamed as he ran at the young blond with a vengeance only to stop short, frozen in place when those eyes gazed at him.

"I told you to run, I won't grant you the privilege to die surrounded by people. Instead you will die like you deserve, alone, with no one to remember you. Like a dog."

Naruto spoke slowly and deliberately like a judge passing the final verdict on a criminal for his crimes.

"NOW RUN!!!"

The man ran with such speed you'd think the devil was at his heels. A few others attempted to mirror his actions only to find themselves rooted to their spots.

"Sorry but none of the rest of you are going to be leaving this place alive. Don't worry though I'll make sure Jona joins you soon."

His red eye became more focused as he stared fire at them and they could see that he was going to kill them.

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME, I HAVE A FAMILY TO TAKE CARE OF. I DON'T WANT TO DIE FOR NOTHING."

"You claim to have a family yet you forgot them completely when you came out here, but rest assured that you won't be dying for nothing because this is justice for all the crimes you've committed. If you don't accept it, that's not my problem. Now die."

"Amaterasu."

From a bird's eye view the whole forest seemed to be shrouded in darkness as the black flames latched onto everything in sight. Everything it touched was burned slowly in the undying flames.

Naruto appeared a good distance away from the hungry black fires behind him in a flicker.

"Man, that shit is harder than it looks, I really gotta hand it to Sasuke. He could keep spamming that shit like it's nothing."

The fires burned fiercely behind him, crackling sounds reaching his ears.

"I think I just killed Natsu."

You could almost feel the deadpan in his voice as a large sweatdrop rolled down his head.

Then something unexpected happened. The fires started moving towards one point being sucked up fiercely with the strength of a vacuum. It looked kind of like a Kamui, the only difference is that instead of getting sucked into another dimension the flames were being drawn into Natsu's mouth. He was literally eating the fire.

"I've gotta hand it to ya Naruto, these are some of the best damn flames I've ever eaten!" The pinkette stated as he slurped down the remainder of the flames.

"Taking with your mouth full is bad manners. Showoff." The blond muttered in slight jealousy.

"Is the girl alright?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah. She's over there resting." Jerking his thumb behind him to point at the brown haired girl blissfully unconscious and placed upright against a fairly undamaged tree.

"Though I gotta ask, was starting a forest fire really the brightest idea you could think of moron."

"Hey it's not my fault, you try getting used to a power that you just had unsealed after having no previous training in it."

Naruto shot back slightly embarrassed, evidenced by the dust staining his cheeks.

"Whatever, at least I held up my end of the bargain. The second stage of the seal has been released. It's time for you to do your part."

The tiny blue hair strand appearing once again out of thin air.

"Alright, I think we've got some time plus I can sense Clare coming from the same direction Jona's heading to. She's not alone either. I'll just catch up to her later."

With a single thought, a stone pedestal rose up out of the ground. Natsu knowing what to do placed the hair strand gently on the makeshift table. Naruto's hands were bathed in a pale golden light as he got to work.

The hair strand split into millions of light particles worrying Natsu immensely. Soon however they began to converge building up on one another based on their previously encoded genetic information. A rough outline of a body formed from tiny bright lights. Then from those particles cells were formed, slowly tissues began to generate, then organs. At this point it looked vaguely like the anatomy chart of a cat only with extra muscle tissues around it's back.

Naruto frowned deeply in concentration, his eyes getting heavier, his breathing faster as his heart rate sped up.

"Okay I'm gonna need a little bit of a help with this part. I'm gonna need you to spread out some magical energy in the air around me."

Natsu nodded firmly as he did exactly what he was told, the Ethernano in his body spreading out of him with a practiced ease but kept confined a certain radius around the blond ninja.

Naruto began pulling on the foreign energy drawing on it and guiding it into the construct of flesh. Soon a nice shiny blue and white coat of fur sprouted as the cat's body was finally completed.

"Now comes the hard part. I wish I Kurama was here, it'd make this a hell of a of a lot easier." He couldn't help but muttered to himself.

Natsu withheld his comments as he looked at the newly reconstructed body of his son slash best friend. He managed to get a hold of himself since he knew it was just a body. There was no life in it yet.

"Alright Natsu I need you to focus entirely on Happy. I want you to picture everything that made him what he was. Personality, quirks, everything."

"No problem, I can do that easily." He did as he was told once more. Creating a mental construct of Happy in his mind.

"This next part might sting a bit." Naruto warned before shoving his right hand into Natsu's heart and began to sift through his emotions.

The pinkette didn't even flinch, entirely focused on the task he had been given. His mind completely on track.

After a while Naruto began to channel the personality the dragon see had created into his being. Acting like a syringe of sorts, before focusing them entirely into the body.

Naruto collapsing from exhaustion while Natsu just stared slightly in disbelief at the eyes that stared right back at him. They held a staring contest for quite a while.

"Ne, Natsu, why are you looking at me like that. Are you sick? Did you hit your head or something?"

Happy asked, using his wings to fly up and check his partner's temperature.

Natsu immediately bringing the blue and white Exceed in for a hug. Naruto smiling at the sight as he pulled himself up. He tried sensing for Clare and could get a feel for her emotions. She seemed to be panicked and confused in a similar manner as Natsu was when Jona revealed his 'monster-repelling' necklace.

"Well I'll be leaving you two to catch up while I go save Clare. I'll find you when I need you."

He didn't wait for a response before zipping out of the area towards Clare. The dragon slayer paying him no mind while the exceed wondered what was going on.

Natsu eventually letting go of him to bring him up to speed with what had happened after his death.

Naruto appeared a few feet away from Clare's location, still shrouded in foilage. Jona stood before her, threatening her with his necklace. He heard Jona shout to a man whom he recognized as the man's friend from this morning.

That caused anger to boil within and out of him. Since the second level of the seal was unlocked his chakra had finally been allowed to flow unobstructed. He could finally do more than just use chakra to enhance his physical abilities.

Which meant that he could finally use his jutsu again. With but a thought a fierce wind began to form in his mouth. A loud shriek was heard as it escaped his lips with the speed of a bullet.

With deadly aim it separated Yorin's head from his body as both Jona and Clare stared on in shock.

Then he made his entrance.

He addressed Clare with a jovial expression completely disregarding the terrified man behind him.

"Hey Clare, it's been quite a hectic day huh?"

He asked cheerily, his eyes expressing genuine happiness to see her. Then he looked at Jona.

"Though I'm kinda wondering why you haven't beaten this guy yet."

Said man shrunk back into himself trying to make himself as small as possible, which was just comical considering his size.

"That gem he carries around his neck keeps stopping me from getting closer. It's setting my Yoma instincts on edge."

"So it wasn't just Natsu then, but how come it doesn't affect me." He muttered too low for Clare to hear.

"Well I guess I'll just have to handle him myself."

A word noise began to erupt around his hand as a ball of blue light began to form. Jona could immediately tell that if that touched him he would die.

Yet he couldn't run, for some strange reason that he couldn't comprehend, his body wouldn't move. As soon as Naruto laid eyes on him, his very soul was frozen solid. Those eyes seemed to tell the story of his life. He could picture it vividly.

His childhood, hidden in a closet as his mother's screams reached his ears. Being rescued by his father only to watch as the villagers set him ablaze because they suspected him of being a Yoma.

Then he could hear them, the screams of the girls he had violated. The cries of the children, his children whom he had murdered just after birth and buried alongside their mothers.

Every sin he had ever committed began to weigh on him. He was trapped in his own head, his breathing hitched, his eyes unfocused. The sound of his own heartbeat was tormenting to him and his stomach seemed to be eating itself.

His breathing grew raspy and labored as he watched Naruto walk towards him. When he was stood right before him, Naruto plucked the necklace from around his neck. Slowly every part of the shinobi and even the surroundings faded into black. All except that eye, that accursed red eye.

"You know what you have to do."

Jona nodded though it was like he wasn't fully there. His mind was broken, programmed with an absolute instruction...

"Suicide."

He repeated the word over and over like a mantra, as he walked back into the forest, a dagger in his hand. His intentions clear to Clare.

"I guess that's over and done with."

His eyes changing to a dark onyx, before reverting once more to their usual blue. The black tint disappearing from his hair.

"So." He drawled out. "Where to next Clare."

After all she had seen and done in the past few hours, Clare felt justified at her response.

"Huh?"

 **The Next Day**

Naruto and Clare were well on their way to Clare's rendezvous point with her handler.

Rubel. From what Clare had told him, the man was the kind of guy who couldn't bring himself to care if Clare were to keel over and die. Seeing her more like a tool than anything else.

The thought unsettled him somewhat, especially when she told him that some handlers were much worse. That caused him to feel a kind of kinship with the Claymores especially considering how he had been treated.

"We're here."

Looking up, he saw where Clare had led them. It was a fairly large clearing in the forest with enough space for a small group to camp out.

"Hey Clare, I'm gonna go hunting. You want me to pick you some berries or something."

Clare had already buried half her sword in the ground and was in the process of resting against it.

"You can't hunt."

"Yes I can. I'll have you know that I am the greatest hunter and trapsetter I've ever met."

"Very convincing." She shot with such sarcasm Naruto visibly deflated.

"Besides I already told you that I require food only once every few days and I can go a long time without it." She finished her eyes closed as she rested.

With an exaggerated sigh Naruto turned and walked into the forest.

"'Gee Naruto. Yes I'd love some, thanks for asking.'" He tried imitating her voice, mimicking it near perfectly.

"Of all the partners in the world, I ended up with the one who spouts nutritional facts Everytime I ask if she's hungry."

He continued walking grumbling slightly, and Clare seemed to be ignoring him. But when she was sure he was out of earshot, she cracked a smile, laughing softly to herself.

 **Two Hours Later**

Clare had to channel all her self control to keep from laughing. Naruto had finally come back from 'hunting', if she could even call it that. His clothes were ripped in places. There was mud on his face and branches in his hair. He looked like he had just come back from a warzone.

She decided to push his buttons a little, masking her mischievous intent behind an emotionless mask.

"So, did you catch anything." She stated more than asked.

The look he shot her was both scary and hilarious.

He handed her a bag as he walked off again.

"Change of plans, were having berries for dinner. Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go find a lake to rinse off. I'll be back in an hour...or five."

Never breaking stride as he walked off once again, Clare erupting in another fit of giggles.

 **Evening**

Clare was sitting in front of a fire Naruto had made when he finally came back. Said young man was sleeping on the floor and was using her lap as a pillow. She was busy running her hand through his soft hair, as she had taken to doing for a while now.

Her peaceful expression disappeared and she reluctantly placed Naruto's head on the floor gently. Then she began to walk into the forest where her handler was waiting.

The man was sitting on a rock in front of a fire. He looked to have been expecting her.

Rubel wore a black high collared shirt and similarly colored pants. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of black glasses and black hat which served only to establish him as a shady character.

"You did quite well on your mission, though I have to wonder about the damages."

Clare said nothing so the black garbed man continued. A smile ever present on his face.

"The townspeople complained about a huge fire burning several of their houses. And they blamed you for it."

He kept smiling despite her lack of response.

"They also told said that you went off northwards out of town with one of their villagers and he hasn't been found."

The man's smile started to falter a bit but it soon returned.

"It seems like since that boy started tagging along with you, you've been more uncooperative."

Clare's face tightened, Rubel's smile growing in response.

"Perharps I should inform Elder Rimuto of the boy. And that you've been emotionally compromised."

"That won't be necessary. I assure you that Naruto has done nothing of the sort."

Rubel raised a brow at Clare's answer.

"Naruto, huh. A strange name. The boy's not from around here, is he Clare?"

"No."

The answer was short and rather vague making Rubel contemplate it, and causing Clare to feel slightly nervous at what he would say next.

"Very well then." Rubel said as he stood up, his creepy smile still present. "If you say he isn't a problem, then I see no need to bother myself with it." He continued.

"However, if you get too distracted by him, you just might lose your life."

As Clare pondered what he meant by that, the man in black paused like he suddenly remembered something.

"Before I forget, the town you left yesterday refused to pay for the job. I've already informed Rimuto and he has blacklisted the town."

He dipped a hand in his pocket and placed something in her hand. As he spoke casually.

"Also, this came in today. She specifically asked for you."

Rubel turned to walk away leaving Clare to stare in horror at the black card in her hands.

 **Author's note:**

First of all, I wanna thank all of you guys for sticking with the story thus far. It really means a lot.

Now I know a lot of people are probably wondering what the heck Natsu (from Fairy Tail) is doing in the story. There are three main reasons for this:

1\. He's one of my favorite characters of all time.

2\. I'm thinking of writing a Fairy tail story after I'm through with this one. and that's gonna be the prequel to Natsu's part in this story. Let me know what you guys think about that in your review.

3\. As you might have guessed by now, I got a lot of inspiration for my story from Spyash2 Naruto's Quest story. I loved it and I'd highly recommend it to readers above 18. The disappointment I had was that there was no fight scene between Naruto and the warriors in red. That was what I was looking forward to since the moment they were introduced. It was supposed to be the greatest battle in the history of epic battles in the story, cementing Naruto as the ultimate alpha. But it didn't happen and that kinda bummed me out. Which is one reason why I made this story and Natsu is going to be an integral part of the plot.

For those that think the story isn't moving fast enough, I'm sorry but there's a reason for it. I'm going to be building on the world of Claymore itself, not just the main characters. Bandits, townspeople, all of these are going to be essential parts of the story.

For those who are wondering, yes Naruto does have Sasuke's eyes, how and why he got them will be revealed later.

Alright make sure to comment and review the story and give ideas you think might make the story better without . An example being: What should I do with the Warriors of Pieta?

A. Kill them all (PS: I'm not doing this no matter what you guys say.)

B. Leave only the original survivors

C. Save some. Kill some

D. Save them all

Let me know in the review.


	5. Awakening Is Not A Death Sentence

Naruto raised his arm in front of his face to shield his eyes from the sand. Clare was walking ahead of him and seemed to have no problem with vision whatsoever. All they had done for the past eighteen hours was trekking.

The greenery of the forest had long since disappeared and they had crossed over into the hot vast arid desert. The sand dunes and winds reminded Naruto of Suna, his friend Gaara and quite a few others.

The memory caused Naruto to smile painfully, wishing to see his friend once more. That was something he would plan for in the future, when he had the means to destroy Konoha. Right now however, he was worried about Clare.

She had been unusually cold towards him since she came back yesterday. He had asked if something was bugging her but she avoided the question, by telling him to get ready to leave. And since they set off she hadn't spoken a word.

Naruto guessed that she was probably curious about his changes when he fought Jona and was just looking for a way to bring it up.

He was about to bring it up himself when his stomach beat him to it with an audible growl. Turns out berries aren't as satisfying as actual meat.

"What is it. Are you hungry?"

Those were the first words she had spoken in the past day. Even worse was she spoke with stoic, business face on. Naruto was even more worried for her and was about to deny the claim when his stomach growled much louder than before.

He resigned himself to a sheepish smile and a slightly embarrassed blush.

"Heh heh, yeah I didn't really have much to eat last night. I'm kinda jealous that you're not hungry."

Clare looked contemplative for a moment before she drew her large sword and held it in her hand. Then she flung it in Naruto's direction. The blonde's eyes automatically changed to their respective red and purple colours. Naruto followed the huge blade with his eyes but didn't budge fros his spot as the large weapon flew at him. He had faith that Clare would never hurt him.

The claymore flew past him nailing a large reptilian animal in the back. It let out a shriek before dying.

"Nice aim."

He complimented with a large sweatdrop. Any random observer would have thought she was aiming for him. Clare didn't speak and simply walked to retrieve her weapon, strapping it once more to her back.

"That should be enough to last us a while. We have been traveling for a while and were only a few hours away so it's okay if we camp here for the night."

"Yeah, sure. I guess I'll get to cooking then."

Naruto got to prepping up a fire to roast the meat over. Using a large stick as a spit, he slowly spun the meat around. He peppered it with some spices and herbs he had picked previously.

When it was done he took a large drumstick for himself and handed one to Clare. He hungrily dug in tearing meat from bone while Clare ate with a lot less gusto. She took a small bite and then lost interest in eating.

Naruto couldn't hold himself back anymore and asked her the question that had been bugging him all day.

"Hey Clare, is anything wrong?"

She thought he was referring to the food and politely replied.

"No there's nothing wrong with your cooking. I just don't need to eat as much as you do. Just a bite is enough."

"Look, Clare I'm not talking about the food, I'm asking what's up with you. Ever since you came back yesterday you've been in a really bad mood. You know you can tell me anything. I'm your friend, right?"

A scathing glare was shot at him, courtesy of the silver eyed woman. it was the first time she had ever shown such an expression

"Friend? I don't know what you think this is but it is definitely not friendship. A friend is someone you can rely on and trust but I'm not sure if I can trust you anymore. Tell me, how is it that while I was busy losing my mind trying to find you, you suddenly got some mysterious eyes and powers. I didn't want to seem intrusive so I didn't ask but I feel like I've waited enough. When we first met I told you about Claymores and our abilities but you don't feel it's necessary to do the same."

She ranted, her voice sharp and accusing. You could literally taste the distrust in her words. When she finished she looked at him, expecting some form of response. Denial, maybe even a hurt look or what she was really hoping, an explanation.

For several minutes a silence was maintained between them, the crackling of the fire was all that was heard. Naruto kept his head bent, shadowed by his hair and keeping Clare from seeing his eyes.

Just as she was about to give up on the conversation, he moved to stand right in front of her face. There was but a tiny gap between their faces. And Clare could finally look into his eyes, she could see the pain they held in them. The eyes shed their blue color and gained an inky black hue, before the two famous doujutsu came to life.

His hair tips grew a bit longer and gained a black tint. He looked more violent, more prone to anger yet it was a subdued kind of rage. She could feel his hatred it wasn't directed at her but it was there hidden perfectly behind his expressionless unnatural eyes. Clare was actually scared of what he would do.

"These eyes were a gift from a friend or rather I should say a curse. The reason I got them is also the reason I will always hate Konoha."

"Konoha. You mentioned that you name before when we first met. Who is this person?"

He stepped back from her letting her release the breath she had no idea she was holding.

"Konoha is not a person, it's a place the place I was born, where I grew up, where I fought my whole life for, where I thought I would one day lead as the Hokage." Then he got angry. "It's also the place that has hated me since I was born, the land that screwed me over time and time again, and the murder site of my best friend."

"I've never heard of such a place anywhere on this world."

"You wouldn't have not even if you searched this entire dimension you still wouldn't find it. Even I don't know where exactly it is, what I do know is that it's in another dimension far away from here. I will find and destroy it no matter what."

 **[Flashback]**

Naruto was sat on the floor of his apartment, thinking about his current situation. He had spent the past month under house arrest while they processed the inactivation of his shinobi license. He had been allowed visits from his friends but was constantly under watch by the ANBU stationed just outside. A sealing formula had been drawn on his back to restrict all access to his chakra, meaning he couldn't talk to any of the tailed beasts. He was for all intents and purposes a prisoner.

His banishment was pretty much decided, he was never going to be allowed to step foot in the Land of Fire ever again once Tsunade came back. He had learnt from Shizune on one of her visits that Tsunade was having a meeting with delegates from the other shinobi villages on the matter. Due to his efforts in the war and the fact that he was the unifying factor in the Shinobi Alliance, he had a lot of political pull, seconded only by Gaara. It was almost ironic how the two most hated pariahs ended up being more influential than even the Kage.

Due to that fact he was being exempted from the Blood Prison. The higher-ups realized that doing so would only spark the fires of rebellion amongst sympathizers and possibly start a whole new civil war. Hence the reason why emissaries from the Big Five we're holding a meeting in Iwa as regards to what to do with him.

He found himself stuck for the first time in his life with no alternative or means to escape. Well there was an option but he refused to regard it as one. A small stack of empty ramen cups lay to his side. He couldn't have ramen at Ichiraku's because he wasn't allowed to leave his apartment. The civilians were being kept in the dark as to what was actually going on. Those who were aware were all either high ranking shinobi or clan heads. So his main means of sustenance had been instant ramen cups or a home cooked meal that some of the other members of the Rookie 11 would bring him when they dropped by to visit.

'This sucks, I can't believe the kind of shitty life I've got, after busting my ass fighting that crazy rabbit bitch, I'm getting banished!'

Technically he had done a lot more than that but after what the white haired goddess had put them through, he was using that as his benchmark.

'Easy Naruto, take a deep breath and look on the bright side. I finally get to see old man Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari again. I guess I can start all over again in Wave Country.'

He tried to think of the upsides to this situation and it seemed to be working, until he remembered another crucial problem.

'But how am I gonna earn a living, I've been a shinobi all my life. Living life quietly as a fisherman ain't gonna cut it for me! I was supposed to become Hokage damn it! Kuso why didn't I keep my big mouth shut! That's right, Shizune. She's the one who caused all this. If she didn't go asking all those questions none of this would have happened.'

This train of thought was interrupted when two black cloaked ANBU with animal faces painted on their white mask dropped in on him via shunshin.

"Lady Tsunade has returned, she has tasked us to escort you to the Hokage Tower."

The larger one obviously a male informed him. Without a word of protest Naruto walked towards the door and started walking out of it, the ANBU shadowing him at a distance that made it seem like they were bodyguards protecting a celebrity and not police escorting a criminal to prison.

The walk was long and unending to Naruto as he felt the way he had always felt in his childhood alone. He was alone back then and even now. Then everyone hated him always making scathing remarks and glaring in his direction. Now they cheered when he walked by worshipping the ground he stepped on.

He caught sight of a group of school girls rushing to the windows to get a glimpse of him. Despite it all he couldn't confide in them, they couldn't tell what was actually going on with him. They acknowledged him but couldn't realize he was still suffering.

Reflecting on this moment was what made him realize how childish his dream was. He stared up and saw the Hokage Tower was just up ahead. He saw Tsunade watching him from the large balcony of her office and realized why she did this. She wanted to break him, soften his resolve so that when she made her offer he would jump at it desperate to have any kind of support.

He started to hate her for making him feel this way.

Naruto turned his head downward and continued to walk forward. His head raised high, he decided that he would show no weakness, after all that was what a Hokage did. They showed no weakness to their people even till the bitter end. The fake goofy smile he had worn through his academy days came up automatically. He smiled and grinned at anyone who greeted him, waving back at some who waved at him.

The ANBU were a bit unnerved at this, after all Tsunade had instructed them to walk to the tower rather than shunshin because she believed it would mess with the boy's psyche. To see him acting so jovial despite the situation was reasonably off putting. Then again this was the most unpredictable shinobi in all the elemental nation's. Someone whose willpower was matched only by his immeasurable strength. It was something refreshing but they couldn't help pity him since they knew what was about to happen to him.

 **[A few minutes later]**

She stared at him with ferocity in her eyes as if trying to impose her will on his very existence. He in turn glowered at her with such tenacity that it seemed to stem from the deepest fires of defiance. Neither wished to yield on the matter. One out of unending love for her son in all but blood, yet a fierce vindictive desire for justice. The other was out of a brotherly bond and a strong distaste for betrayal.

Tsunade finally fed up sat back in her chair but refused to break eye contact with the blond. The past month had been nothing but stress. After the war with the crazed Madara Uchiha and the fabled Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya Otutsuki, Tsunade was just about to call for a village wide celebration. That was until she found out that the former leaf genin who had defected to Orochimaru decided to start another battle with her godson for a rather shallow and partially retarded reason.

Then again all Uchiha had a trace element of madness and somewhat shallow reasoning in them. It was probably ingrained in their DNA.

The fight had caused serious injuries to both Naruto and Sasuke. They had each lost a lot of blood and an arm. After fifty nine hours of surgery she had managed to regrow Naruto's arm with some of her grandfather's cells. She also fixed up the Uchiha but refrained from growing him an arm because he was to undergo trial for all his crimes as soon as he recovered. She left them under intensive care and strict monitoring by ANBU in Sasuke's case while she left Shizune in charge of Naruto. It was by sheer coincidence that she decided to visit Naruto and overheard his conversation with Shizune.

Anger had clouded her judgement and she had reacted in a way she regretted now. Revoking his shinobi license was a given but the banishment was more of a spur of the moment kind of thing. Nothing she was actually planning on doing

Well at least not until, the diplomats of the other four nations, currently staying in Konoha caught wind of it and informed their superiors. After killing some rather loud mouthed ANBU, she was summoned for a meeting in Iwa with regards to the matter.

Since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Feudal Lords after much deliberation, all came to an agreement on a set of laws to prevent another possibly apocalyptic ninja war.

The law book came with with a strict set of rules and their consequences which must be carried out without fail. Unfortunately, the punishment for the crimes perpetrated by Sasuke would be shared by Naruto as he was an accomplice if only a minor one.

Sasuke would most than likely be executed, she didn't want that to happen to Naruto. So after much pleading and arguing, more of the former than the latter, she had been provided an alternative by Onoki. All she had to do was to get Naruto to see that it was in his best interests. Unfortunately what she was asking was impossible for Naruto to ever do.

"Naruto, this is your only alternative, if you don't agree to it you will be branded as a criminal and killed publicly. Is that what you want?"

"I don't want to die, but I would never betray Sasuke like that. He has changed, I know he has, I'm sure of it."

"Your words would have been a lot more convincing if you weren't being put to question yourself. As we speak every person who has been granted pardon due to your recommendation is currently under re-evaluation-"

"In other words my word is worth about as much as shit."

He spat in frustration. Much to his surprise however Tsunade shook her head in the negative.

"On the contrary, you hold much influence over shinobi and civilians alike in all the Elemental Nations, ironically you have the most influence in Iwa. They respect you and would do anything you ask of them. But the leaders have made it extremely clear that they will judge all missing nins and criminals with hard evidence. So basically you can't be involved in the judgement of any criminals. Not even when you become Hokage. That is if you're still alive till then."

Naruto knew what she was trying to do. It was the same thing that Shizune, Sakura and even Ino had been trying to convince him of for the past month.

"Orochimaru is one thing but with all Sasuke's actions before and after the war, there is simply no hope for him-"

"Shut up!"

"These are the facts Naruto, Sasuke is going to be killed no doubt about it, but you have a chance to save yourself. All you need to do is to kill Sasuke yourself."

"I said shut up!!!"

"Stop being so stubborn Naruto! Don't you want to be Hokage? Do you want to die and leave your friends behind!"

Tsunade yelled slamming her hands on her desk as she glared down at him.

"I am thinking about my friend which is why I would much rather die than kill Sasuke! I won't do it! Never!"

Tsunade walked out from behind her desk and turned to look out the large window that was situated in her office. She felt pain that her godson would put his life on the line for a man who wasn't worth it, in her opinion.

She wasn't going to let it happen no matter what he said. She would never allow him to throw his life away like that. There was only one solution, he would loathe her for it but she didn't care. Steeling her resolve she motioned for the ANBU to restrain him.

"Take him to the hospital. Get the medical team and have him heavily sedated and prepped for an eye transplant. Take the Uchiha there as well. I'll be there soon to begin the operation."

With a nod the two ANBU moved to restrain Naruto. The blond responded by thrusting his elbow into the woman's face mask and swung his fist into the man's gut sending him reeling backwards. In an instant four more cloaked ANBU moved in.

Naruto fought considerably well for someone who had zero access to his chakra against several black ops ninja but he was ultimately pinned. Before losing consciousness and amidst gritted teeth, he stared at Tsunade's emotionless face, then there was black.

 **[Konoha Hospital]**

When Naruto awoke he couldn't see anything, no lights, no roof, no people, nothing. He only knew he was awake because of the sounds of people talking and machines beeping and buzzing. Well that and the pain, extreme shooting pain in his eyes. His eye holes felt like they had something ripped violently out of them. The place felt raw yet wet and stung like nothing he had ever felt before.

He tried to move his arms but they were strapped to the operating table he was on. Connected to his arms were needles which allowed blood into his veins.

Worse still was the fact that he could feel metallic objects being moved around his eyes, scraping at the skin in the eye holes.

He let out a scream of agony, and began hyperventilating finding it increasingly hard to breathe.

While everything felt and sounded hazy to him, Naruto could still recognize a voice, her voice ordering them to sedate him some more. Amidst the frenzied panic and the sudden hazy feeling that overcame him, Naruto could barely process anything but the haunting scream that surpassed his in sheer intensity. His tensed muscles soon relaxed as sleep took him once more.

 **[Several Hours Later]**

Naruto was woken by the sounds of a battle ensuing. He opened his eyes and found that he could see again but everything looked strange and blurry. His eyes felt sore and the light that shone in them were bright enough that the seemed to burn his already sensitive retina.

He couldn't find the strength to move and his arms and legs were still bound to the table. He tried to spy a look at what was going on and caught sight of several doctors and nurses being blown backwards and tossed into walls or simply being knocked out by a blow to their Temple and vitals.

A figure stood above them knocking them back and forth until they were all incapacitated. The figure them moved towards him and freed him from his restraints. Ripping out the drip needles connected to his arms. They pressed up against him and served to support him as they moved out of the room.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Shush. That's not important right now. Let's get you out of here first then you can ask questions." They quickly shushed him.

The blond couldn't clearly see who his apparent saviour was. He knew from having them so close that the person was female and due to him having to lean down quite a bit she was smaller than him. Another thing he notice was that the person had dark hair. He found himself being led by his helper towards another room in the hospital. The floor was covered by bodies of unconscious hospital staff.

"I don't see Tsunade anywhere."

"We had to wait for her to leave before we could move in, she is still the fifth Hokage after all. Thats the reason that it took so long to save you."

The young female opened the door to a dark room allowing light to enter. Inside a chair strapped down with metal restraints was the bloodied, pained body of one Sasuke Uchiha. His dark hair matted onto his face with blood and sweat. His pale white skin turned near ashen. He looked nothing like the cocky asshole he once was.

"W--Who g-goes t-t-there"

He asked weakly his voice hoarse as though he had been screaming non-stop for hours.

The last Uchiha looked up and the sight Naruto was greeted with was nothing short of horrifying. The black eyes of the Uchiha were gone, all that was left were the blank dark empty pits that leaked blood freely. Naruto stared even more intensely at the mirror behind the Uchiha. In it's reflection he saw two black eyes staring at him from his own head. The reality of what had happened came crashing on him.

They had ripped out and transplanted the eyes of his friend and former teammate to him.

 **[Present Time]**

"That is how I got these eyes. They pried them out of my best friend and implanted them into my head. Unlike me however, he wasn't allowed to be put on anaesthesia. Sasuke was fully conscious when they made incisions around his eyes. He could feel the sharp pain when they cut at the skin beneath his eyes. And he was painfully aware of them digging into his head and plucking out his eyes."

"I've never heard of eyes having such strange powers before."

"You wouldn't have. Like I said earlier I came from another world far away from here. In my world there were people called shinobi who could do all kinds of insane stuff. Walk on walls, control the elements and a lot of other stuff like that. Almost all our abilities are powered by one thing..."

"Chakra." She stated

"Yes. There were some families and clans who by their ancestors genetics or their own prodigious talent were able to develop an unnaturally high affinity for an element. That power or jutsu was deeply ingrained into their DNA and would therefore be passed on to their children. One of the highest forms of a kekkei genkai would be a doujutsu."

"Like these eyes of yours."

She said while staring at his mystic eyes. She could feel the power in them as they glowed in the darkness. They certainly possessed a certain allure to them.

"Yes. The red eye is known as the Sharingan or the Copy Wheel eye. It give the user the ability to see things at a faster speed, gives subliminal hypnotic control over a person with a weak will, and one of it's most useful yet damning abilities is it's photographic memory."

Naruto's voice suddenly took a turn, his voice turned hostile and grating. Clare flinched again, but this time it wasn't out of fear but worry, with every word Naruto lost himself further to rage. She could see that his hair had grown to shoulder length and had turned even more black.

"I can see every tortuous moment. Every thought that crossed his mind. I can see all his memories like they were my very own. It's my own personal torture, being unable to forget about it for as long as I-mmph!"

He was caught completely off guard when Clare captured him in a hug. He was shocked but didn't resist as she draped her arms around his neck and pulled his head into her chest. This was the first time she had ever willingly gotten this close to him.

Normally he was the one making all the effort and while she enjoyed it, she would never make a move as bold as this one. He found it comforting and couldn't help but relax into her embrace, his tension disappearing.

Naruto released his transformation, his eyes turning black before they were hidden under a genjutsu and turned blue once more. Naruto's hair also returned to it's blond colour but stayed at it's new length. Clare ran her finger through his hair and tenderly held him close.

Desperate for comfort Naruto clung to her wrapping his arms around her back just enjoying the feeling. It was in situations like this that Naruto didn't mind being shorter than Clare.

"Relax Naruto, it's going to be okay. Remember what you said, were partners right? Then I promise that I'm going to help you get your revenge like you promised to help with mine...just calm down."

She whispered softly in his ear. The two of them stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other's company. Naruto then picked up on something, he could feel a pair of eyes watching them from a reasonable distance and frowned when he realized just who it was.

Clare also picked up on their hidden observer if the way her body stiffened slightly was any indication. He discreetly cut his thumb and in an unnoticed puff of smoke a small toad appeared. It immediately started hopping in the direction that Naruto felt the eyes coming from in order to tail him.

With that done Naruto allowed himself some sleep using Clare's breasts as pillows. His body had just recently started adjusting to the Sharingan and Rinne-Sharingan so just summoning it took a lot out of him. Clare listened to his soft snoring and decided to stay awake so they don't get caught off guard by any Yoma while sleeping.

The fire flickered and crackled softly and the nocturnal animals began their nighttime activities.

 **[The Next Morning]**

Naruto and Clare were walking over rocky terrain. Clare had tolled him that the place they were was called Mount Shire. When he had asked her what she was going to do here, she simply told him she was paying a service to an old friend.

Something about the way she said that put him on edge. It felt like she was going to do something she didn't want to but she didn't want him to talk her out of it. However he was nothing if not persistent and swore to get it out of her, which is where we find him now.

"Hey Clare!"

He called out since she was walking a bit ahead of him as usual. Close enough that she could get to him if anyone tried to ambush him but far enough away that she could serve as a bigger for anything that attacked them head on.

"Yes Naruto."

She answered even though she knew what he was going to ask for the twentieth time. She was almost certain that he would not let it go without an answer.

"This 'favour' you're going to do, what is it exactly?" He asked again.

Now she was sure that he wasn't dropping it.

"It's a service carried out by warriors of the Organization to each other from time to time." She answered vaguely silently praying that he dropped it.

She didn't like thinking about it because the more she did, the higher the danger of changing her mind and putting innocent people at risk. Unfortunately Naruto was a very stubborn person.

"Are you going to help them kill a Yoma?"

"No." A short response.

"Are we gonna help them evacuate a town or something?"

"No."

"Oh so you're gonna help them relieve some built up tension?" He said with a slightly perverted smile.

"NO!"

She shouted with deeply flushed cheeks. She actually stopped and turned around to shout that, embarrassment on her face which he found really cute. She was wondering where he even got that idea from.

"Alright then, give it to me straight Clare, what are the chances that you're going to be killing another warrior."

Clare found herself frozen at how quickly he guessed it. She could tell from his voice that he was completely serious. There was no longer any trace of playfulness on him. She sighed in tiredness and defeat as she decided it was best to simply tell him the truth.

"My job today is to take down another Claymore."

Naruto had suspected as much but he still wanted her to clarify.

"And by take down you mean..."

"Kill."

Her answer was simple and blunt yet it was enough to set Naruto on edge once more, memories of Sasuke's torture invading his mind yet again.

Clare could feel that Naruto was getting antsy. She had known that he would react like this which was why she didn't want to tell him anything about it. She realized that explaining the situation would be the best option.

"We 'Claymores' are half Yoma which means that were half monster... In our bodies we hold the powers of Yoma and control it with our human minds using their powers to fight against them. We're basically just monsters with human heads. Yet we're also human kind's greatest asset. The only weapon that can kill the Yoma. However using the Yoma's power has a major drawback. We eventually become full blown monsters."

At this point Naruto completely shocked. He expected a downside but from what he just heard these women were practically selling their souls to protect people who would rather see them dead that alive.

"If we abstained from using our abilities, we would have been fine but we are made to be weapons, every we use our Yoma strengths and abilities we are pushed further towards being monsters. It's a constant tug of war in our minds with our Yoma side as the definite victor... We have no way of stopping it... All we can do is slow it by staying within our limit. The Organization came up with a way to minimize the threat however."

She tossed something at him. He caught it and saw that it was a small black card. On it was a symbol that looked almost exactly like the one Clare had on her clothes and sword. She held her sword in her hands and unscrewed the hilt showing him the black card that bore her own symbol.

"When a warrior is sent out, they are given a unique symbol for identification, in other words no two Claymore have the same symbol. This symbol represents out name amongst members of the Organization and... We are also made to carry a black card in the hilts of our swords. When we realize that our human minds are at their limits and we're sure we're about to turn monster and we wish to die with our human minds intact and in human form then we send out the black card...to the person we want to be killed by."

Naruto had caught on to what she was saying. His heart refused to agree to what she was planning to do. He would never allow it.

"This person that sent you this card, do you know them?"

She seemed saddened when he asked that.

"Her name is Elena, a warrior who joined the Organization around the same time I did. We comforted each other through the darkest times, when our bodies transformed and we couldn't stand the pain we'd hold each other so we could get some sleep."

"So she's your friend?" He stated more than asked but she gave him an answer anyway.

She didn't answer.

Naruto tensed and he became deathly serious, he stood defiantly in front of Clare.

"In that case I can't let you go through with this. I will not let you kill your friend."

Her eyes narrowed slightly and turned to a feral yellow as she started using ten percent of her Yoki. Naruto followed suit and began to release some of his chakra.

"Naruto move aside." She ordered but he glared at her defiantly.

"There are some lines were not allowed to cross. Killing someone precious to you is one of them, you're supposed to protect them no matter what. It doesn't matter if they turn into animals, monsters or even demons."

"Things are never that easy. I received the black card, she wanted me to kill her so I have to kill her. So move aside!"

Clare's face started undergoing changes as she unconsciously began using thirty percent of her Yoki. Naruto not one to be outdone matched her easily. The pressure they exerted was heavy and the tension thick.

"What gives you the right to decide that! Huh? What makes you think that you can just kill somebody you're close to!"

"She sent her black card!" Clare yelled through gritted teeth.

"I don't give a damn about that. She could have sent a black mailbox for all I care, the fact still remains that I'm going to stop you from killing her! I don't care what you and your Organization think! A black card is not a death sentence, and I'll be damned if I let anyone die for such a stupid reason ever again!"

Clare stared at Naruto in frustration tears welling up in her eyes as her resolve crumbled slowly but surely. They stood there staring at each other until they heard footsteps heading towards them.

Clare's breath got caught in her throat as she amstared at the woman who just appeoached them.

A beautiful young woman with long blond hair dressed in the same garb as Clare only with a different symbol on her neck and sword.

"It's been a while since we last saw each other. How have you been Clare."

"Elena."

Clare said with a tear trailing from her eye. She blamed Naruto for getting under her skin like that. This would have been a lot easier otherwise.

"Are you crying? You know we're not supposed to get emotional over this kind of thing. You're helping me by letting me die as a human."

Naruto clenched his fists frustrated at how casual she was about dying.

"You look exactly the same as you did back then. I expected you to be a bit more distorted now." Clare said.

"I'm forcing it back to meet with you. I've been thinking about back then, all we felt was pain but strangely I only remember the good times. It's upsetting that even though you started before me I'd end up in this situation before you."

Elena's Yoki auta suddenly took a massive spike. She seemed to be struggling to repress it all.

"It's...no...use. I can't hold it back anymore. I've gone way over my limit so I ask you Clare please kill me...while my mind is still human."

Elena's body began to bulk up and change, her veins bulged out of skin and tears poured out of her eyes.

Clare tensed, her own aura flared as she reached for he Claymore she held it vertically in front of her and prepared herself.

"Stop." Naruto's whispered right beside Clare. She paid him no mind and tensed the muscles in her legs preparing for a lunge.

"Clare stop it." He said slightly louder this time.

Clare blasted off her feet at high speed blasting a gust of wind in Naruto's face and shadowing his eyes with his long bangs.

Her sword was poised to strike at Elena's exposed neck when Naruto appeared in front of her in his transformed mode.

"I SAID STOP IT!!!"

He yelled as his fist buried itself into Clare's gut knocking her out. His eyes were brimming with tears. His empathic abilities allowed him to experience other people's emotions like they were his own when he came into contact with them.

That was what helped him to instantly understand his opponents when he clashed with them.

Right now he could feel Clare's pain despite how well she hid them. Both her physical and emotional pain. That was one reason why he was crying, the other was that he didn't like hurting Clare, but she wouldn't listen to reason. He rounded on the Awakening Elena as she looked at him in shock.

"Now let's see what we can do for you."

His Sharingan eye bore into her soul as he stared deeply into her silver eyes.

 **[Author's Note]**

And that's a wrap. Sorry it took me so long to update but I've been working on another story that's supposed to be the basework for this one. Obviously this story is not working by Canon rules. A lot of things are still canon but I made a few adjustments to some characters and how some things work, an example of which is in this chapter.

I'm planning on releasing that story after I'm done with this one. But that might change depending on what you guys want, though that would mean slower update times.

As always feel free to point out anything that you don't like. You can make suggestions for things you'd like to see but keep in mind that I'm not going to change the original storyline. I'm simply going to make adjustments to fit your suggestions as best I can.

If you like what I'm doing so far feel free to let me know in your reviews because it really helps more than you know. Alright then I'll see you guys next chapter.


	6. Demons in the Citadel

Elena felt her face with her hands unable to understand what the heck just happened. One minute she had been struggling to hold back her awakening hunger for human innards of the blond boy with Clare. The next second Clare had been knocked out cold and she had found herself staring into one of the most unusual eyes she had ever seen.

That red eye stared into her very being and Elena found herself with zero control over her own body. Even her mind wasn't safe. He had bypassed her mental defenses completely. Before she could even begin to process what was going on, she found herself sitting on the ground, and still retaining her human appearance. The bulging muscles and veins that accompanied a Claymore's shift into an Awakened Being had all disappeared.

Of course so had her clothes but she didn't really care about that right now. Her primary focus was trying to understand what exactly this boy had done to her. A Claymore coming back from an Awakening was totally unheard of. This was the first time it had ever happened in the history of the Organization. In training they had made it exclusively clear that once a warrior awakened there was no turning back. That was why the black card system was created in the first place. Once you awakened you were as good as dead. Returning from an awakening was the same as returning from the dead. It just wasn't meant to happen.

"What did you do to me?"

Elena couldn't help but ask as she felt her own body, making sure that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. The blond boy whom she had heard Clare call Naruto simply smiled at her kindly.

"I kinda used my Sharingan to take over your mind and force your Yoma side into submission."

He explained in as simple terms as he possibly could. In actuality he had done a lot more than that. Naruto invaded her mind and found the demon half of Elena trying and successfully repressing her human side. In order to return her human mind to its former state Naruto placed her Yoma side under a genjutsu that forced it to hand over control to him. He literally had to break its mind and then restore control to her body. The entire process didn't take too long but it was extremely tiring and complicated. Add that to the fact that Naruto was just getting newly adjusted to his eyes and this made it extremely taxing on him. But he would stick to the short version of the story to save her sanity. He didn't want to start explaining what exactly a genjutsu was to her when he himself didn't really understand it.

"I can't hear my Yoma half anymore. I can't feel it trying to take control."

She said in shock, the side of her that had always tried to wrestle control from her was gone. She knew it was still there but she couldn't feel it's hold over her mind anymore.

"Yeah, it's not going to be trying that for a long while dattebayo. You should still be able to use your yoki without feeling the urge to awaken."

She couldn't believe her ears at what he had just told her. She could use her yoki without having to worry about awakening. This was too good to be true. Elena had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. When she felt the sting and still saw the whiskered boy smiling at her she couldn't keep herself from jumping him. She knocked him to the ground and swung her arms around the blond boys neck, practically straddling him while saying "Thank you" over and over again.

Naruto didn't seem to mind and simply let her do what she wanted. She was pressed up rather tightly against him. Her exposed breasts was rubbing against his chest and she seemed to be subconsciously grinding her hips against his crotch. While Naruto may be oblivious to these sort of things, having a beautiful naked girl pressed up against you was not something you could ignore. Nobody was dense enough to think that that was something natural.

 **[Rabona]**

A hooded pink haired man walking with a strangely blue colored cat suddenly ducked into an alley knocking the cat off his shoulder and let out a sneeze that was accompanied with extremely hot flames. The entire alley was scorched and melting from that one sneeze. The pinkette rubbed his nose while the blue cat came to check what was wrong.

"Whoa... Natsu why did you sneeze like that... and did you really have to burn the alley to do it?"

Happy asked as he stood in front of the dragon slayer, careful not to step on the molten red slabs of stone. Said dragon slayer simply huffed as he looked to the sky.

"I can't help it if I burn things when I sneeze, plus I got the strange feeling that somebody was talking about me."

"Who knows, they must have been talking about how clueless you are."

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

"You'll have to catch me first!"

Happy said cheekily before running away causing Natsu to get angry and comically chase after the Exceed.

"Get back here you cheeky asshole and taste my fists of fury!"

Natsu yelled as he chased Happy who was currently running on foot. This attracted a few strange looks and caused onlookers to laugh at the situation. Until Happy sprouted wings from his back and started to fly. This caused mouths to hang open and jaws to fall.

"Never!"

When they heard the flying blue cat yell back at the pink haired man, they fainted. All of them. It was way too much for their minds to handle. Running up the side of the building Natsu jumped and caught Happy. He was about to deliver swift 'justice' on the cheeky when he realized that they had guards surrounding them. Light glinting off the really sharp spears pointed right in their faces.

"Uh…we come in peace?" Natsu offered lamely.

 **[With Naruto]**

The blond boy looked to the sky getting the feeling that Natsu had just done something incredibly stupid. He was brought out of his musings when he felt Elena unwrap her arms from around his neck yet still straddling his waist so she could look at him from a seating position.

This in turn allowed Naruto to see the nasty, and rather crudely sewn gash that ran from her breasts to slightly above her pubic region. He had not really been able to notice it before now given that he was too occupied with She noticed him staring and gazed down in sadness, believing the look to be one of disgust.

"You must be disgusted by it aren't you?"

She said with pain easily noticeable in her voice. Unlike Clare she seemed to be a bit more vocal with what she was feeling, and her proximity to Naruto allowed him to easily sense the sadness felt.

"This is my stigma. Rather it's the stigma of all warriors of the Organization. Past, present or future. A nasty scar that cannot be healed for as long as we live, understandably most are put off by it. I don't blame you if it repulses you."

"No no no, it's not that at all, I was just wondering how you got it and if it still hurt or not. It doesn't disgust me at all. I think you're a very beautiful and attractive woman with a killer body too."

Naruto said quickly to reassure the slightly taller woman. He hadn't meant to stare, he was just curious as to how she got it and wanted to know just how sturdy it was. He noticed that her skin was flawless except for that one scar and wanted to know what caused it. He idly noted that she said it was a stigma borne by all Claymores which meant that there was a very high chance of Clare having one too. It was entirely possible, seeing as he had never been in a situation that required Clare to be naked, that she could have it and he had just not seen it yet.

He had a hunch that the stigma could have something to do with the process that was used to turn them into Claymores.

"When we become Claymores we are cut open and are grafted with the flesh and blood of a Yoma, then the wound is sewn shut. The Organization has tried multiple methods but they can never get the wound to heal." Elena explained.

Turns out his hunch was correct.

Naruto reached out with his hand and cupped her cheek and she visibly relaxed into his touch.

"I promise that I'm going to find a way to heal your stigma, and I never go back on my word dattebayo!"

He saw how she looked when she caught him staring and guessed that this stigma had caused her a lot of pain, he could probably heal it with Six Paths Sage Mode but unfortunately that power was sealed away and he needed to fulfill the conditions of the seal to unlock it. Still that wouldn't stop him from fulfilling his promise. Hell that was why he had promised in the first place, so he would have no choice but to fulfill it. This was his way of making sure that he regained his power and also making who knows how many Claymores happy.

Elena had no idea how he was hoping to achieve it because Dae had said that it was impossible. Then she remembered how it was impossible to come back from an awakening but Naruto had done it and she was living proof of it. So she had little doubt in her mind that he would be able to do it.

Still it didn't mean that she wasn't going to reward him a little for what he had done. Her smile turned naughty as she pressed against him once more, her nubs hardening as they ground against his muscular chest through his clothes. She ground her crotch against his with even more enthusiasm than before, literally, dry humping him. Naruto couldn't help but find this arousing and his body seemed to agree seeing as he was pitching a massive tent in his pants, painfully hard from all the stimulation.

"I feel something poking me." Elena stated in surprise. While she was completely inexperienced when it came to anything sexual to the point that she didn't even know what a penis was, she could still tell that whatever was poking her was huge. It's size was something she never expected could fit in his pants. Curious she tried to stick her hands to grab what she felt poking her, Naruto blushing and stuttering at her boldness.

Her plans were brought to a halt though as a fully conscious and heavily blushing Clare dragged her off Naruto. Unlike her ignorant friend, Clare was well aware of sexual activities due to a rather unfortunate experience in her childhood before becoming a Claymore.

"Naruto, this is hardly the time to be fooling around with someone you just met! Especially when that person happens to be my friend." She lectured him and Naruto could feel the jealousy rolling off her in waves. He wasn't going to point it out though or she might get even angrier at him. He couldn't help but sigh in relief when she rounded on Elena.

"And as for you, just what did you think you were doing!" She yelled at the other blonde with a passion she never showed before.

"I felt something big poking me and I wanted to see what it was." Elena calmly said somewhat confused at Clare's strange behavior.

Clare face palmed hard.

"That isn't something you're supposed to do. How many times do I have to tell you that there are some things that you simply can't do to another person without their permission. Especially if that person is a man."

"He didn't seem to mind though."

With that one statement, Naruto was once again screwed. He was fully expecting her to scold him again but she just sighed and turned away from him, to speak with Elena again.

"So I see you didn't awaken, was it a false alarm?" Clare asked seriously, because seeing someone return from awakening was impossible even for her. She was trying to clear up her doubts that her friend's mind was still intact.

"No it wasn't, I could feel myself slipping away and my body was already transforming against my will, but somehow he managed to pull me back by placing my yoma side under a jin..getsu?"

"Genjutsu. It's a type of illusion technique." Naruto corrected and explained, both women nodding in understanding.

"Right genjutsu, and when I came to, I couldn't feel the struggle for control anymore. My mind feels like it was before I became a yoma." Elena spoke in barely restrained happiness. "Clare, your friend is amazing, he can stop our yoma sides from ever taking control. He should tell Lord Dae and Elder Rimuto about him. If he joins the Organization then no warriors will ever be forced to become Awakened Beings. We would be able to use our full powers without any of the consequences."

Elena was absolutely giddy with excitement having an almost fanatical belief in the Organization. Much unlike Clare who became a Claymore for revenge, she was one of the few girls who actually volunteered to become one. She had a firm belief that the Organization was doing the world good by giving them the power to slay the demons that were killing human kind. She had absolute loyalty to them even going as far as to call Dae, Lord Dae.

Clare glanced at Naruto once, just once was enough for her to decide what to do. In that one moment she had seen his eye flash into the Sharingan. Clare knew the Organization well enough to know that telling them about Naruto would cause them to target him. If the people who ran it were sadistic enough to let young girls to suffer the excruciating pain that came with the process of becoming a Claymore, then they would be more than willing to strap Naruto to a table and run experiments on him to figure out just how his eyes worked. Elena was naïve while Clare was more level headed able to see people for what they were. That was the reason she couldn't let the Organization believe that Naruto was anything more than a human. Rubel already suspected something, it was hard enough to dissuade the man seeing as they had no care for each other, and she couldn't threaten to harm him since he was her handler.

Clare wasn't going to let Naruto be put into unnecessary danger, while he was a lot stronger than any normal human, she didn't know how well he'd stack up against the higher ranked double digits or goddesses forbid a single digit.

Her hands gripped Elena's bare shoulders and she stared her firmly in the eyes. Her eyes were cold and harsh which shocked the other woman quite a bit. Naruto simply watched the scene unfold, not feeling it was his place to interfere.

"Listen to me Elena. You must never ever tell anyone about Naruto. Not your handler, not the higher ups, not even our fellow warriors and especially not Dae. If they ask, it was a false alarm. Am I clear?" Clare was harsh when speaking, her voice cold and emotionless Iike it usually was when she was on a mission.

"Bu-"

"Am I clear?" Clare asked again with some slight venom slipping into her voice, her eyes glowing yellow as she flared her power.

Elena answered with a hesitant nod, clearly intimidated. Despite the fact that she was technically stronger than Clare, the older woman could scare her quite a bit whenever she got angry. Besides she was grateful to Naruto so she would keep quiet about him as a personal favor to him."

"Good, thank you." Clare finally calmed down before enveloping her first friend in a tight hug. "By the way, I'm really happy that you didn't awaken." Elena returned the hug with a happy smile while Naruto watched them with a smile as well.

His smile vanished moments later though as he remembered something he found worrying.

Clare and Elena eventually parted ways, the younger woman heading back to the Organization's headquarters in Staff, since her handler had already been recalled from the field. Naruto had given the woman his sleeping blanket to cover herself since the rest of her clothes besides her cape and sword were badly damaged beyond repair.

Clare and Naruto meanwhile were still in the Dragonspire mountains watching her go, blanket wrapped tightly around her body and her Claymore tied to her back with some rope.

"Thank you." Clare said refusing to turn to him, her eyes firmly on Elena's back slightly in disbelief that her friend had truly not Awakened.

"Don't mention it. It was nothing really." He smiled sheepishly, a little embarrassed that she was thanking him.

"Elena joined the Organization the same time I did. We comforted each other in our darkest hours. When our bodies were transforming and we were wracked with pain, we'd hold each other at night so we could sleep…and…from the time I joined the Organization as a child…she was my only friend."

Clare said with tears rolling down her cheeks before she continued.

"You have no idea how happy I am to still have my friend alive."

Naruto used his thumb to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"Hey don't cry, you shouldn't ever cry… look she's still alive, and she's still your friend… besides I'm still here and I'm gonna be your friend forever and ever. You're never goo a be alone as long as I'm alive dattebayo!" Naruto announced causing Clare to look at him.

His bright blond hair seemed to be absorbing the sunlight giving it a more ethereal glow. She looked into his bright blue eyes and could see the love and kindness for others that existed in them. And for the first time in a long time she did smiled. A true loving smile that reflected in her eyes.

Naruto was left stunned as he realized just how beautiful she was when she smiled. A blush slowly creeping on his cheeks. She turned back to stare at Elena's back, Naruto soon doing the same. The other woman seemingly feeling their eyes on her turned back and gave them a wave. Naruto waved back and Clare just smiled. Elena turned back to continue her journey and Clare turned to walk in the opposite direction.

"Hey. Wait up." Naruto said as he hurried to catch up with her. "Where are we going now?"

"To meet up with Rubel and get my new assignment."

"Aw come on, we just finished this one, and I'm hungry and tired, and I need rest. Do we really have to?"

"Yes."

"By the way do you always know where to find your handler...that Rumbil guy?" He asked and Clare giggled at the way he mispronounced the name but didn't bother to correct him.

"We're given a general location where we will be expected to meet with our Handlers, usually somewhere isolated. We don't actually find our Handlers so much as they find us. But we keep out a sensory net so that we know where they are when they get within a certain range."

"So where are we supposed to wait for him." Naruto asked.

Clare pointed towards a slightly forested area a fair distance away from their location. As soon as she did so, she felt a fierce wind rush past her carrying a distinct shout of "Race you there!" which she instantly recognized as Naruto's voice.

She could faintly make out a blur rushing over the rocks heading towards the foliage. For someone who needed a lot of rest, he could move very fast. Not wanting to be outdone, she channeled some of her yoki to her legs and blasted off after him.

 **[A few days later]**

"Welcome travelers, to the cheapest inn in town. Would you like a room?" An aging man welcomed the two cloaked strangers that had just stepped into his inn.

"Yeah, and a hot bath while we're at it." The shorter one said removing the hood of their cloak to reveal a beautiful feminine face with bright blue eyes and long sun kissed blond hair which was very uncommon.

"So would you like two rooms then?" The elderly man asked.

"Actually no. My brother and I are traveling together, we stopped by to look for any valuable antiques in town and we don't really know how long we'll be staying, so we'll share one room to minimize cost." The taller one said removing their hood to reveal a beautiful girl with brown eyes and straight long light brown hair framing each side of her face stopping just short of her neck.

The old man's eyes widened in shock, surprised that the two of them had to fend for themselves at such a young age.

"So you say you sell antiques?" The innkeeper asked.

"Yes, our father collected them when he was alive, so we've decided to sell them to get by." Clare answered with a smile.

Naruto made a show of unwrapping a large statue and the old man looked at it with an appraising eye.

"How much?"

"Ten million beras."

The man did a spit take and looked at the thing in disbelief.

"TEN MILLION BERAS! For that thing! I don't mean to be rude but I think that your old man might have been taking you both for a ride.

Clare gave a small giggle and Naruto chuckled lightly too at the man's reaction.

"Yes we think so too, but still this was our father's, and if we're going to be selling his memories, we might as well do it at the prices he set."

"I see well I'm sorry but I can't afford that amount."

"I guess that's fair, we didn't think we were going to sell it so quickly anyways. Either way we'll still take a room." Naruto said with a smile wrapping up the thing again.

"Yeah sure, here's the key, third door on the left upstairs. I'll have someone come fix up the hot water later."

"Thank you."

The two turned around and headed for the room, bumping into a guard who tried to flirt with both of them much to the innkeeper's amusement .

"Hey old man, who're the two beauties?" The guard asked after the two had gone up the stairs.

"Sorry to burst your bubble but the one with yellow hair is a boy. He's the brother of the other one."

"What! You're kidding me right old man."

"Unfortunately I'm not, made the same mistake myself, they must have had one hell of a mother." The old man said twirling his bushy mustache as the guard took a chair.

"Yeah no kidding. So what are they doing in town?" The young guard asked staring inquisitively at the innkeeper.

"They said they were in town to sell antiques their father left them."

"Antiques huh, that's awfully uncommon around here. You sure they aren't Yoma?" The guard asked suspiciously and received a quick bonk on the head.

"Don't even think about something so stupid. How can you even believe that cuties like them could even be Yoma. Besides there's just no way that that could ever happen. Yoma never travel in pairs… ever."

"Well I guess that's true but don't you find it strange that these two happen to wander into town just when people start going missing. The girl could be an unnatural."

"What you mean a Claymore, how would they even find out about that what with the gag order being placed on everyone. That even less likely than them being Yoma."

The young guard simply leaned back against his chair.

"Doesn't mean that rumors don't get out. Like the one of there being a Yoma in the holy city." The guard said unaware that someone was listening in on their conversation.

 **[Author's Note]**

 **And this chapter is done. Okay so obviously I've decided to keep Elena alive, but this has put me in a bit of a precarious position because there is very little information about her other than the fact that she is Clare's friend. That means that I need to develop her as a character myself, her personality, her quirks and even how powerful she is. The only simple fix for this is to kill her off again but that kinda defeats the purpose of saving her in the first place. Anyways while I work on fixing those problems, I need you guys to come up with ideas for an Awakened form for her. I'll be leaving an email address on my profile for you to send your ideas to. So yeah.**

 **Secondly I want to inform you guys that I won't be able to make each chapter as long as it used to. Yeah 7000 words isn't really working for me anymore, especially since I have another story I'm currently working on. Don't worry though I'll make sure the chapters will still be longer than 4000 words and on the bright side, this means quicker update times on both stories.**

 **Lastly I noticed a lot of hate for Sasuke in the reviews and such and personally I don't blame you for hating him. However in this story, Naruto has both Sasuke's Sharingan and Rinnegan, which is quite literally the only thing he can use right now since his other techniques are still sealed. Plus Naruto is not the type to spit on someone else's sacrifice, even if that person tried to kill you multiple times. So sorry but until Naruto manages to get back to full power, expect a little bit of Uchiha buttkiss. For now lets all take comfort in the fact that the guy's dead.**

 **Alright guys, make sure you review, and for all of you who've favorited or are currently following this story I wanna say thanks .**

 **See you next chapter.**


	7. Genesis and Revelations

"Did you get anything?" Clare asked though it didn't seem like she was expecting to get any useful feedback.

"Nope, nothing. Even the guards don't know where it is. They have their suspicions but it seems like they're more concerned with keeping things on the down low." Naruto responded as he stopped eavesdropping on the conversation downstairs.

"That's to be expected. This is a holy city after all, it wouldn't look good if a Yoma was reported to be seen here."

She took off her cloak and laid it on the bed and Naruto mirrored her actions, dropping the large bandaged statue on the ground.

"You still can't sense out the Yoma?" He asked trying to get a grasp on the situation so he knew how next to proceed.

"The drug was more effective than I thought. I can't sense out its Yoki. It seems we'll have to look for it the old fashioned way." She said.

"I don't think that's going to be necessary. Give me a minute." Naruto said and sat cross-legged on the bed in a meditative state. Clare wondered what he was doing but didn't disturb him.

Naruto meanwhile was scouring the city vicinity for negative emotions. He found many such emotions but that was to be expected as every individual had his or her own dark sides. What alarmed him though was the large pool of dark emotions that emanated from a singular point.

He opened his eyes to see Clare's expectant face. Walking to the window in the room he pointed out at a building that rose high above the others in the surrounding area.

"There's something sinister hiding in that building over there, I'm guessing it's the Yoma were looking for." Naruto said and Clare walked up to the window and looked in the direction he was pointing at then she smiled.

"It seems we have an idea where to start. My contact is also in that Cathedral."

"Cathedral? I thought a priest would be the last person to seek help from the Organization. What happened to keeping up appearances." Naruto said amused at the thought.

Clare shrugged and headed out for the door.

"It would seem that not everyone is ready to throw away their lives for the purpose of preserving their faith. I am going out to meet with him and ask how he would like us to deal with the Yoma, will you be coming?" Clare offered.

Naruto was just about ready to agree before he felt something. That something took precedence over anything else right now.

"No. I have something else I want to check out right now but I'll definitely be there for the real fight." He said and Clare nodded in understanding. "Oh and Clare be careful, this Yoma is a lot stronger than any other ones we've run into so far and while I dont think it will attack on broad daylight it helps to be cautious."

She nodded in acknowledgement of the warning as she headed down the stairs. Naruto heard the downstairs floor open and close and soon Clare's cloak was visible on the road heading to the Rabona Cathedral.

With her gone Naruto jumped out the window and roof hopped in the same direction she was. He moved very fast such that not even a blur was left behind whenever he passed, only a strong gale like wind.

He blurred past Clare and she looked up at where he was only to find nothing. Within seconds he was on a roof in front of the large Cathedral but he didn't jump down since the person he had sensed was on the highest floor of the building. With a tremendous amount of leg power he burst from his spot to the open window after the very top of the Cathedral landing in the room in one fluid motion.

As soon as he landed though he had spears immediately pointed in his face and swords held dangerously close to his vitals.

"In the name of the angel of Rabona, I order you to remove your hood and announce your name." A loud voice announced in a voice that said he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Naruto contemplated knocking them out or placing them under a genjutsu. He was tempted to go with the first option since that seemed more fun than the alternative. Luckily for the poor guards who were ignorant of the blond boy's thoughts a voice stopped them amidst gorging on food.

"All of you *munch* should *slurp* stop this right now *burp*!" A familiar voice said and that voice belonged to none other than Happy who was happily munching away with Natsu, completely undisturbed by what was happening.

"But sire he could be dangerous and we have yet to determine his motives for sneaking in here." The chief guard of the security detail said respectfully while casting a glare in the hooded boy's direction.

"Don't worry about me. I've got Natsu here and he's more than capable of protecting me." Happy said while Natsu gave a nod in agreement, his mouth too filled with food for him to speak.

"Very well then my lord. We'll be right outside if you need us." The man said as the other soldiers lowered their weapons and headed out the door. He turned to talk to Naruto. "If you even think about harming his grace in any way I guarantee that you will regret it."

He then walked out of the room himself closing the door behind him.

"Looks like you guys are doing well for yourselves, though I never expected that you'd become a powerful figure in Rabona of all places. How did you two even end up here?" Naruto said removing his hood.

"Believe it or not we don't even understand what happened ourselves. We came to Rabona to find out more about that necklace you gave me. Rabona is a holy city so I figured they'd probably have some knowledge of demon repelling artifacts. We were being inconspicuous until Happy decided it would be a good idea to spread his wings-"

"Hey! You were the one who was chasing me all over the place, Natsu!"

"Anyway, when the people saw Happy's wings and then heard him talking, we had spears pointed at our faces by the city guards. Things were really starting to get tense until a Father Vincent came and said that Happy was an emissary from their god or something. The next thing we know we've got people bowing to us and doing whatever we said."

"I made fish free!"

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at that, only Happy would think that was important enough to mention. He quickly got back to business though after all he didn't just drop in to say hi.

"How are things going with the necklace I gave you. Have you figured out what it is yet?"

"That's why we're here in the first place. I have some guys working on identifying it's origin but I think I understand why I got sick around it." Natsu stood up and walked over to Naruto.

"The necklace Jona wore had a gem that contains an intense amount of magic. The gem is actually a lacrima from my home dimension."

"What! How did that get here? I thought your dimension was separate from this one." Naruto yelled while Happy just stared at them confused.

"Yes our world's are dimensions apart and it's impossible to cross over from one dimension to another without an insane amount of power or..."

"A mastery of seals." Naruto finished for him. "This is because of the seal that was put on me wasn't it." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. The seal that was used to lock you away here was based on my dimensions draconian origin. It's a seal that was made using a dragon's ability to cross through dimensions as well as a forbidden magic art. The result of which is the seal that is still on you." Natsu explained seriously.

"How were they even able to create a seal like that?" Naruto wondered out loud and Natsu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Actually that may have been my fault." Naruto glared at him giving him a look that told him to explain. "It happened after Happy, you know died. I was looking for ways to bring him back so I travelled through many different dimension looking for a technique to bring him back to life. I managed to stumble on your world's second Hokage. I gave him the seal in return for his Edo Tensei technique but it didn't work because I can't use chakra."

"You gave him a seal that powerful. What the hell was wrong with you. You're the only reason they managed to seal me away. If it weren't for that stupid seal I would have had my revenge on them and wouldn't have to spend god knows how many years chained up in this world. I'd still be sealed if Clare hadn't found me." Naruto raged.

"Well it's a good thing that she found you." Natsu stated simply causing Naruto to growl.

"You still haven't really explained how this lacrima was able to cross dimensions." Naruto said exasperated.

"I was getting to that. The seal required a large amount of power to activate. I provided enough power for one use while Tobirama created and perfected the seal. Unfortunately since the seal was also based on a highly destructive spell, it's use must have had a catastrophic effect on the collective multiverse. In other words by trying to seal you here, they accidentally caused the dimensions to start collapsing into one."

"What does that mean exactly?" Naruto could follow the explanation to some extent but it didn't mean he understood the effects luckily the pinkette in front of him seemed to.

"What it means is that the barriers that separate each dimension are getting thinner and gradually the different worlds are beginning to fuse with each other allowing things like lacrima to appear in this dimension, creating a kind of crossover effect. That's the reason why you can still summon toads" Natsu said taking in a breath before continuing.

"However there is still some slight separation between the dimensions so people don't get pulled into different dimensions randomly. Most people won't even notice anything is different except they have enormous amounts of power."

Natsu had to pause to take a long breath after that explanation. Meanwhile Happy stared at him in shock.

"Woah, Natsu. When did you get so smart?" The blue cat asked while Natsu stared at him dryly.

"Happy you've been dead for almost a thousand years and I've been crossing dimensions to find books with ways to bring you back. I learnt a few things." Natsu said.

"Okay we'll keep this on the back burner for now. What I really want to know is why Kurama and the other tailed beasts aren't responding to me. I can feel them but I can't talk to them nor access their chakra." Naruto stated his most pressing concern right now. "I thought that once you released the second layer of the seal it would restore my connection to them."

Natsu took a minute to ponder what Naruto had said before arriving at a conclusion. Unfortunately it wasn't one that the former shinobi would appreciate very much.

"The Three World Cycle: Abyss Break seal works by splitting a person's core strengths into three equal parts and locking them away with each part needing to be unsealed by a different person. The First World Cycle seals away the person's body. The Second seals away their abilities and the Third seals away the person's soul. The fact that you can feel their chakra at all means that the second layer has been released, however the seal wasn't made to counter jinchuuriki like you with more than one soul inhabiting their body though, so there are two possible scenarios that could have happened. One the tailed beasts living inside you were expelled from your body and are reforming themselves back in the Elemental Nations. Or two, they sacrificed their souls so that yours would be the only one preserved and died in the process." Natsu said grimly while Naruto tried to process what he had just heard.

'I hope for the sales of everyone living in Konoha that the tailed beasts are still alive because if they aren't then Naruto will show them no mercy.' Natsu thought unnerved by the dark look that he saw flickering through the blond's eyes.

"How come I can still feel their chakra and their presence in my mind."

"To be honest I'm not entirely sure but if I had to take a guess I'd say that the residual energies bonded to their chakra is in disarray and is trying desperately to fuse with your chakra. You'll need to be able to sync those energies completely with yours and bond them to yourself or you won't be able to use your tailed beast abilities." The former dragon slayer said.

"Okay. I guess I'll try to find a way to do that." Naruto said pulling up his hood and heading to the window he entered from. "By the way, me and Clare are here for a job to kill the Yoma inside your Cathedral. Do you mind telling me why you couldn't take care of it yourself."

At this Natsu sighed but not in tiredness or sadness but rather in childish annoyance.

"I can't because it would be incredibly boring. These days I can't fight anyone and actually enjoy it hell most people keel over from the first punch. What's the point of fighting when you can blow anything away in just one shot. I never thought being all powerful could suck so much." Natsu ranted. "Plus there's all the politics and the unnecessary security detail that comes with being the leader of a city. Not to mention the paperwork!" Natsu yelled glaring and pointing accusingly at a large stack of papers sitting on the desk in the room that Naruto somehow didn't notice.

The blond ninja chuckled remembering the haunted look the Sandaime always seemed to have when he glanced upon the papers on his desk.

"Alright fine, we were going to deal with the Yoma anyway but could you at least tell your guards and soldiers not to interfere with us when we're doing our work. The last thing we need is to be caught up in a manhunt while fighting." Naruto stated.

Natsu thought about it then agreed.

"I can do that but I need a favor from you in return." He said causing Naruto to roll his eyes in response. This was the nature of their relationship. If you wanted something you had to give something in return.

"What do you want this time?" He asked the pink haired man.

"I want you to revive Happy and give him his soul this time." Not only Naruto but Happy also was shocked by the request.

"Natsu..." Happy started but couldn't get any other words out.

"Even though you brought him back and recreated him from my memories. He still isn't actually alive. He can't taste anything even though he eats, he doesn't feel anything and he doesn't actually sleep. He just pretends to not to worry me. I don't wanna see him suffer like that anymore so I want you to get his soul back for me." Natsu finished.

"Again I ask why can't you get it yourself, can't you just beat up a death god and collect Happy's soul back. Come to think of it, why didn't you just do that in the first place." Naruto asked and Natsu crossed his arms while pouting.

"It's not like I didn't try but I kinda went too far with beating up Ansekhram and I might have accidentally killed him. Since then none of the other death gods would allow me anywhere near them which is why I need you to get it for me. Also it doesn't help that your world's Shinigami was Ansekhram's sister and she refuses to give Happy's soul back just to get back at me."

Naruto just let out a long exhale. This type of scenario was something he should have expected. Of course a deity was going to be involved, especially with his luck and Natsu brashness.

"I'll see what I can do." He said jumping out the window. "Sheesh just my luck now I have to start thinking about fighting. And what the hell did he mean by 'she'." Naruto muttered to himself while hopping from rooftop to rooftop.

After watching Naruto leave Natsu went back to his seat and started munching away on the food on the table in front of him.

"Natsu, you didn't have to do that you know. I can handle it." Happy muttered demurely with a sad expression on his face.

"Of course I did buddy. Do you really think that I spent the last one thousand years trying to bring you back just so you can be a shell of your former self." Natsu said. "Hell no. I'm gonna make sure you can enjoy life the way you used to before you died. I promise you that. Besides it's going to be weird having you not be able to enjoy fish anymore." He finished making Happy look up at him in shock before it changed to a happy smile.

"Aye." He shouted and both of them grinned.

"Hey Natsu." Happy suddenly said. "Wendy and Carla must have grown a lot stronger now, right?"

"I'm sure they have buddy." Naruto nervously said shifting uncomfortably.

"Natsu." Happy called again. Mira, Lucy, Gray and Erza must all be freakishly strong too." Happy said again.

"Yeah they are." Natsu agreed his discomfort being a bit more prominent this time. He really hoped that Happy wouldn't ask him any more questions. Unfortunately the exceed still continued talking.

"Hey Natsu."

"Yes." Natsu replied with a strained smile.

"If it's been one thousand years does that mean that Lucy and the others are really old now?" Happy asked somewhat naively.

"You could say that." Came Natsu's cryptic reply and there was a moment of silence between them for a while.

"They're all dead aren't they." Came Happy's deadpan statement causing Natsu to release the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Yep. They are. But we're gonna find a way to bring them back starting with you." The pinkette said rubbing his hand on the blue exceed's head.

"Aye sir!" Happy yelled happily. Just then a knock came at the door and a woman dressed in traditional priestess clothes poked her head in through the door.

"Sorry to intrude your eminence but I have been requested to bring you your next batch of paperwork." She said walking over to the desk and retrieving the already signed papers only to drop a much larger stack to replace it.

Natsu fell to the ground white as a sheet with his soul escaping from his mouth as he stared at the papers muttering something about how Happy got to make all the fun laws and he was stuck doing all the paperwork. God he hated this job.

[With Naruto]

No sooner had the blonde jumped in through the window did Clare walk in. He removed his cloak as did she before both sat down on the bed. Naruto placing his head on her lap as she stroked his hair.

"Did you find the person who hired us to come here?"

"Yes. I found him and he asked me to meet him tonight for the details of the mission though I doubt it's anything we don't already know." Clare said. "I noticed your energy in the Cathedral, what were you doing there?" She asked.

"I went to see a friend of mine and let's just say that we can use whatever force we want to bring the Yoma down without fear of punishment." Naruto said with a smile. Clare didn't bother to question how he managed to achieve that, she trusted him.

"You need a bath." She stated.

"Would you like to join me?" He offered with a teasing smirk causing her to blush slightly.

"The bath is downstairs, it would look suspicious for the two of us to go in together especially when we are supposed to be brother and sister." She said refusing to look him in the eye. This only caused his grin to widen.

"So you're saying that if we were alone you wouldn't mind taking a bath with me. Good to know, I'll make sure to remember that." He said before hopping to his feet and heading to the bath downstairs while Clare glanced at his back with a furious blush.

'That idiot.' She thought with an embarrassed face but a smile.

[Midnight]

Naruto sat in the room waiting for Clare to come back from her meeting with her contact. A certain Father Vincent. He had originally wanted to go with her but they had both decided that the two of them going would only bring them unnecessary attention. So he agreed to stay back and wait impatiently for her.

A few moments later and she was gliding in through the window and landed in a crouched position.

"Welcome back." He said. "What did the Father say?"

"He said that we can act in any way we deem fit to bring down the Yoma so long as it doesn't endanger the public or call too much attention. Apparently an order was made that prohibits any soldier to interfere in our altercation with the Yoma. Though we still aren't allowed to break curfew or any other of the city's rules." She said.

"Well it's guess that's to be expected. So we're going to fight the Yoma tomorrow right?" Naruto asked.

"Not quite."

The female warrior's reply got him to quirked a brow.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked staring at her to which she stared back at him.

"I mean that I want to fight the Yoma on my own tomorrow. I do not want you to interfere." She declared boldly while he stared at her in confusion.

[Inside the Cathedral]

A large figure snacked on the entrails of a guard. It's gory way of eating splattered blood everywhere covering the floor and the walls. Just a few feet away was the body of another guard in a horrifically dismembered state.

The large beast looked up from its meal it's large beady eyes glaring menacingly with a fierce evil. It radiated some of its Yoki causing an intense dread to fall over those living in the surrounding area.


	8. Defending a Friend

"We need to get out of here." The masked person said to Naruto who staunchly refused to budge from the near dead form of Sasuke Uchiha.

"I'm not going to just leave him here!" He firmly refused despite not being able to stand on his own two feet.

The masked female didn't allow him that option as they tried to drag him out of the room.

"He's very close to death. If we try moving him we might end up killing him anyway, he'll just end up slowing us down and we don't have much time as it is. Tsunade will be back at any moment and we can't risk still being here when she arrives." She said moving them out of the room while Naruto struggled to break out of her grasp.

She was right and he knew it, still his loyalty with his teammate caused him to keep struggling until they got out of the medical facility.

Thinking back maybe if he hadn't wasted so much time struggling they could have escaped before the ANBU team arrived. Unfortunately he did and they got out only to be met with a squad of five ANBU.

"You have ten seconds to hand over Naruto Uzumaki peacefully into our custody after which we will employ the use of lethal force. What do you choose?" One of the masked ANBU stated. It was a voice that Naruto recognized instantly.

The small female holding Naruto up stayed silent seemingly pondering it. After the ten seconds had elapsed the ANBU started to drop into battle stances but she reacted first.

"Go to hell!" She shouted throwing several smoke bombs on the ground in front of her before vanishing with Naruto in a shunshin.

The ANBU followed in hot pursuit slowly gaining on her especially since she had to support Naruto too. Since the blond was still too weak to stand. That didn't mean that he couldn't help though.

Naruto formed a mini Rasengan on the tip of his finger before firing it at one ANBU who got a bit too close to them. The attack hit the masked ninja squarely in his face, cracking his mask and causing him to miss his jump. He crashed down from the rooftop and fell to the floor unconscious.

He tried the same thing again only for the technique to be blocked by the tanto of the familiar ANBU. The four black ops shinobi weaved through hand signs and took a deep inhale their cheeks and chests swelling to inhuman sizes.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." Two ANBU yelled spitting out massive orbs of roaring flames which chased after their targets.

"Wind Release: Air Bullet." A similar blast of wind was fired fusing with the flames and creating a raging inferno giving off an intense amount of heat.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu." The last masked ANBU presumably the leader of the squad fired a dragon construct of water that chased after its target colliding with the blazing inferno and exploding in a huge blast of jet hot steam that enveloped the two escaping ninja.

Naruto woke up with a fierce jerk sweating heavily. Clare was instantly at his side checking him over worriedly.

"Naruto are you okay. You're burning up." She said feeling his forehead for his temperature.

While he was happy that she was so concerned about him, he wouldn't let her worry herself over him especially over something like this.

"It was just a nightmare. It's not really important, don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He reassured her.

Clare didn't look convinced though and seemed ready to fight it when they both heard footsteps and voices coming from downstairs.

"Clare your eyes!" He said noticing that the effects of the suppressant pill she took had started to wear off.

She quickly produced a bottle of the pills and downed one just as the door came crashing open. Two guards quickly made their way into the room giving Clare just enough time to pull the hood of her cloak over her head.

"Don't move. We're looking for Yoma." One of the guards announced after barging into the room.

They walked over to Naruto looking suspiciously at his blond hair but a glance at his face revealed a pair of blue eyes staring back at him. The guard coughed once in nervousness before walking to Clare who looked a lot suspicious with her head covered.

"Yeah, she was about that height." A new voice said at the entrance and two men stood there. One was rather tall and well built with a scar on the left side of his face, having a mature air about him. The other was short and exuded a brash personality.

The soldier holding Clare stiffened up at seeing them.

"She looked a lot suspicious running around the rooftops last night." The short one said walking into the room. "Come to think of it didn't you two arrive in town yesterday."

"Sid...Galk...You two were supposed to be on guard duty at the Cathedral last night. Where were you?"

The shorter man named Sid waved off the question and continued talking causing tic marks to appear on the other guards face.

"I'm not accusing the girl of last night of being a Yoma after all the thing didn't just appear last night...but for someone to catch my knives in midair with their bare hands. I doubt that any normal human could do that. The Eminence's new order is also rather suspicious." He said crouching a bit till he was about eye level with Clare's hood. "Maybe there's someone here who isn't allowed to be here...let's say a silver eyed half monster witch. I bet she'd be able to catch my knives, wouldn't she!." He suddenly yelled before yanking off her hood.

Sid seemed surprised to see that she neither had the blonde hair nor the silver eyes that defined a Claymore. He got over it fairly quickly though and held her by the chin.

"You're a pretty one aren't you. Your eyes don't look silver but then again the person we fought was a filthy half breed who dirtied herself with monster flesh... something like changing eye color shouldn't be impossible for her, should it?" Sid said invading Clare's personal space even more.

He was caught off guard however by a sharp hook to the face that sent him staggering back into the arms of his partner. Naruto who had remained quiet through the altercation had finally lashed out. He had wanted to hit the guy a lot sooner but he needed the guy to keep talking to buy time for Clare especially since he didn't know how long it would take for the suppressant pill to take effect. Now that it had though there was nothing stopping him from showing this guy what for.

"Ow! What the hell you-?" Sid started to yell walking up to Naruto but another punch sent him right back down again.

The other guards in the room moved to defend him pointing their spears at Naruto who just stood there watching them an angry glare.

"Don't bother getting up I'll just knock you back down again. If you ever talk to my sister that way again I'll make sure that you regret it."

"Is that a threat punk." Sid said getting back up but Naruto seemed to be making good on his promise and punched him right back to the ground with blood trailing down from his lip.

The spears in Naruto's face were suddenly at his neck and came dangerously close to breaking skin. Clare was conflicted. She looked like she wanted to jump in and help but at the same time she had been conditioned not to harm humans unless it was absolutely necessary. Naruto could handle himself though and didn't recognize the spears as a threat seeing as he only had eyes for Sid who was still reeling from the blow though he seemed hesitant to try and get up again. Even he could tell that the blond in front of him would walk into those spears just to punch him down again.

He cast a frustrated glare at the blond man in front of him and he seemed ready to stand back up again but was stopped by the voice of a new arrival.

"Sid, Galk and the rest of you stand down immediately." Natsu said walking into the room with Happy trailing behind him with his wings on full display in a godlike fashion.

"His Eminence." The guards all said in veneration bowing to various extents. Even Sid had to incline his head out of respect due to the air they exuded.

"I believe I made it abundantly clear that no one is allowed to harass any visitors to the city in the hunt for the Yoma. Maybe I wasn't clear enough." Natsu said as an intense heat flared in the room causing the armored guards to sweat. "Let me make it absolutely clear to you now. Even if a Claymore were to enter this city, you are to offer zero resistance so long as they do not break the law. If I were to catch any of you harassing innocent guests like this again you will face my wrath."

He said calmly but the pressure he was putting off was more than enough to drive it home. Soon the heat let up and the guards could finally breathe again.

"If you'll excuse me. I have to apologize to our guests for your foolish mistake."

One by on the guards left the room till the only ones left were Naruto, Clare, Natsu and Happy. Galk had helped Sid up to his feet despite the other's protests at being able to stand on his own. They were just making their way out the door when Natsu addressed the large man.

"Galk, I expect you to keep Sid in line. Make sure that something like this doesn't happen again." He said causing Sid to grind his teeth in anger while Galk simply nodded.

"I understand your Eminence. Sorry for the inconvenience." The strong silent man finally said as he left the room with Sid following him.

When they had gone Natsu shut the door behind him and mentally prepared himself for the coming onslaught.

"You idiot. I thought you were going to keep the guards off our backs. What the hell happened?"

"Sorry about that. I gave the order but I guess that must have made the guards suspicious, especially Sid and Galk. They are the most exceptional guards here but they also have trust issues. Besides do you really think that everyone here will listen to me. I literally got here two weeks ago. Some people still don't trust me." Natsu said.

Clare meanwhile recognized the pressure and the heat she had felt just moments ago. It had caused her knees to buckle and had nearly driven her to the floor. That heat, she had felt it before and she had a feeling that she knew this man from somewhere. But where, and more importantly how did Naruto know him?

"How do you know this person Naruto?" Clare asked looking at the pink haired man with suspicion.

"Clare it's good to see you again! How have you been?" Natsu greeted ignoring her question completely.

"Hey Natsu, this is the same Clare that you said is Naruto's girlfriend right?" Happy's offhanded comment caught both Naruto and Clare off guard.

They both choked on spit for a while but Naruto recovered quickly and looked awkwardly at Clare who was struggling to comprehend the fact that she had just seen the cat speak. Then again they seemed to be friends of Naruto so of course they would be weird.

"Don't just say things like that so suddenly Happy." Naruto protested with a playful tone. He said then placed an arm around her shoulder causing her blush to flare up again. "But I guess you could call her my girlfriend." He finished teasingly.

"He likeeeeeees her." Happy said rolling his tongue in a way that only he could manage to pull off.

She stuttered and coughed trying to ignore the constant teasing and get the conversation back on track.

"Naruto who are these people?" Clare asked again schooling her features somewhat.

"I guess you probably don't recognize him but he's that old man that we met in that other town." Naruto said and Natsu let his form change to that of the aged man before changing back to normal.

Clare's jaw dropped in shock as she finally recognized him.

"You're that old innkeeper from that village." She said pointing at him.

"And I'm Happy." Happy chirped causing Clare to pull him into her bust from his cuteness surprising even herself.

"Now that we're all acquainted with each other let's get back to the issue at hand." Naruto said slightly jealously causing Natsu to nod.

"Right. Well I have made sure that none of the guards will bother you again so if you'll excuse me we'll be going now." Natsu said trying to head for the door.

"Not so fast. I just realized that the terms of our deal are totally in your favour." Naruto said accusingly causing Natsu to slump his shoulders.

"Fine, what do you want?" The pinkette asked.

"I want you to owe me ten favours and in return I'll get his soul back for you." Naruto stated his new terms.

The dragon slayer thought about it for a while before finally agreeing.

"Ugh fine. More work for me." He said with a loud groan. "In the meantime I'll get started on the portal to the Shinigami, I'll let you know when it's ready." The dragon slayer said.

The blond man nodded his head in understanding and the dragon slayer and Exceed left leaving Clare hopelessly confused.

"What just happened?" She couldn't help but ask herself.

 **[Later]**

Naruto and Clare could be seen walking on the streets of the city. It was rather early in the afternoon hence the busy market. They were talking with each other as they passed the by the numerous stalls on either side of the road.

"...and that's the deal me and Natsu were talking about earlier." Naruto finished explaining while Clare nodded her head in understanding.

"I see." She said with a slightly furrowed brow. She understood everything a lot clearer now but it still gave her a headache when she tried to wrap her head around some parts of it.

"Yeah, don't try thinking too much about it, it only going to cause you unnecessary headaches trust me." Naruto said and Clare gave him a nod then a thought crossed her mind.

"Didn't your friend say that that his pet had his soul taken?" Clare asked and Naruto nodded. "Didn't you also say that the seal on you locks your soul away?" Naruto nodded in affirmation wondering where she was going with this.

"Then does that mean that you can't taste and sleep like him too?" Clare asked.

"Not exactly. Happy died hence his soul was taken by a death god or Shinigami. I on the other hand didn't die, i just had my soul sealed so there's a difference." Naruto explained. "I can still taste and sleep and all other things but I expend my energy faster and I get tired a lot quicker than I normally would."

Clare hmmed in response and didn't say anything else for a while.

"Naruto, I've been thinking about what the guards said this morning-"

"Don't pay any attention to what that short bastard said! He doesn't know anything about you Clare. You're not a monster, you're a really nice person and that's only one of the reasons why-"

"I wasn't talking about that." Clare interrupted before Naruto could finish his small rant.

"You-You weren't?" Naruto asked and Clare shook her head 'no'.

'Shit! That was really close! I almost said- GAH!' Naruto mentally screamed with a blush on his face.

Clare who had turned to look at him noticed his blush. She was smiling a bit from what he had said and a part of her was curious about what he was going to say that made him blush so much. Naruto recovered soon and immediately tried changing the subject.

"If you weren't talking about that then what we're you talking about?"

"What the guards said worries me. They mentioned that two bodies had turned up just last night. A Yoma only needs to eat human innards about once every week or two to satisfy their hunger. If two people were killed and eaten within the span of a single night then I suspect there might be some other force at play here." Clare said grimly and Naruto gained a serious expression too.

"What exactly are you saying? That a Yoma did kill those people."

"I have reason to suspect that we're not dealing with a normal Yoma but a Voracious Eater." Clare said and while Naruto had no idea what that actually meant he would be lying if he said that the name didn't creep him out a bit.

"What is a Voracious Eater?" He asked.

"The longer a Yoma lives, the more cunning and stronger it becomes. As it's strength grows so too does its appetite. The Organization termed them Voracious Eaters. That must be the thing you sensed dwelling in the Cathedral. Can you tell whether or not it's disguised?"

"Sorry but I have no idea what a disguised Yoma feels like so I couldn't really tell you." Naruto answered.

"Very well then, let's head back to the inn. I'll be heading for the Cathedral tonight in case the Yoma decides to make an appearance and I'll need your help." Clare said and the two started walking back.

On the way back something from one of the stalls caught Naruto's eye.

"Clare I'm going to need some money." He said and she handed him a few beras staring curiously at the item he had gotten.

 **[That evening]**

A black cloaked blur burst from the window of Clare and Naruto's room dashing from rooftop to rooftop with a practiced ease. Soon enough the figure was being tailed by none other than Sid and Galk who were in hot pursuit.

Soon the figure stopped as the two guards landed on the rooftop the figure was standing on. A roof with a pretty good view of the Cathedral entrance.

"Heh heh heh. What'd I say Galk. I told you that if we tailed them long enough they'd finally slip up. Wanna bet that her eyes are silver now." Sid said with a malicious smile aimed at the cloaked person who remained silent.

The larger guard drew his sword and got into a battle stance and charged at the cloaked figure while Sid hung back brandishing his knives in his hands.

"Wanna bet you can catch my knives again, oh kind and gentle sister." He yelled tossing said knives with deadly accuracy while Galk swung his blade down hoping to cleave the person in half.

The figure ducked under the swing and back flipped onto the edge of the rooftop the sudden movement causing the wind to blow off their hood and reveal their blond hair and blue eyes.

"You know I hate it when people mistake me for a girl but I guess Clare's plan wouldn't have worked if I didn't look like one." Naruto said raising his hand to show that he had caught all the knives Sid threw at him.

Both guards were shocked beyond reason.

"Wait if he's the brother then where's the sister?" Sid started to question only to notice a blur rush past the guards stationed at the entrance of the Cathedral.

"Drat! Galk the half breed just ran into the Cathedral we need to go after her now." Sid said attempting to jump down from the rooftop only to have to dodge one of the knives he threw earlier courtesy of a passed off blond.

"What did I say would happen if you said anything bad about Clare?" Naruto asked with a menacing glare as Sid found himself knocked down to the ground by a strong hook not unlike this morning.

"Damn you! You monster loving bastard!" Sid yelled charging the blond on one side while Galk charged him from the other.

Naruto blocked Galk's huge sword with one of the knives he had caught earlier and used another to deflect the knives Sid was throwing from what he assumed was his blind spot.

He rolled under a swipe that could have taken his head off and jumped back to evade even more razor sharp projectiles.

The blond then decided to go on the offensive. A quick burst had him in front of Sid before the young man could even blink. A second later saw all the young man's knives being flung off the roof. Naruto then grabbed the man by the arm and flipped him over his shoulder and onto the ground.

Galk tried to come to his partner's rescue and tried slashing at the blond. Unfortunately for him though Naruto had fought a lot of people who were many, many, many times faster. In other words Galk was totally outclassed.

A swift kick dislodged the blade from the bigger man's hands and into one of the tiles of an adjacent rooftop. After that all that was needed was a few well placed punches and kicks that sent both men down to the ground. Naruto seemed to make it a point to humiliate Sid not even allowing the man to stand.

He had just punched the shorter man for what seemed like the umpteenth time when he heard a scream of pain coming from the Cathedral. He quickly jumped off the rooftop and vanished into the Cathedral at speeds that the two guards had trouble following with their eyes.

"He went into the Cathedral let's go Sid." Galk said. He looked rather beaten up with bruised and welts forming on his face but was still looking a lot better than Sid overall.

Sid had blood trickling down his lip and nose and his left eye seemed to have swollen shut. He also had a lot of bruises on his body and he couldn't help the slightly fearful look that flashed through his eye when Galk suggested that they follow the blond who beat them both to a pulp.

Both managed to stumble into the Cathedral with some help from the guards at the entrance only to find Naruto crouched over the body of a grievously injured Clare. She was barely conscious and seemed to be bleeding out rather heavily.

Naruto didn't say anything and just held her hand. A bluish energy surrounded both of them and Clare felt a familiar surge of energy flowing through her body. She opened her eyes and found that all her wounds were gone and she was feeling a lot more energetic.

"I knew it. Back then you did the same thing too. That energy that I felt that was you wasn't it?" Clare asked referring to the time she had had to piggyback him into that Raki boy's village to which Naruto responded with a nervous smile.

"It seems like the Yoma was a bit too much for you." Naruto said looking around ignoring the guards around them.

"The suppressant pills dulled my sensing abilities considerably. I couldn't tell where it was going to be until it was too late." Clare said. "It seems to have gotten away by now. So what do we do?" She asked.

Naruto closed his eyes and felt for the Yoma, he could tell where it was hiding but he also knew that engaging it in a fight now could put the people in the Cathedral at risk. Luckily he had a plan.

"Hey you guys." He yelled pointing at the guards he had been ignoring till now. "I need you to round up everyone in the Cathedral and gather them in one place."

"And why should we listen to you!" Sid barked but flinched back slightly when Naruto looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"You have two reasons. You can either do it because you know as well as I do that it's the right thing to do or-"

"-You can do it because if you don't I'll lock both of you up in a tiny cell for the rest of your lives for disobeying my orders." Natsu finished for Naruto with a terrifying smile aimed at Sid and Galk who started sweating bullets. "So what do you say boys."

"Aye sir!" Both squeaked as did the rest of the guards. His Eminence could really be terrifying when he wanted to be.


End file.
